Pinched nerve under arm
Game Over: Part 9
2024.05.28 20:49 ExcuseMeWTF50 Game Over: Part 9
Just under a day would follow since Max and 8-Bit's tenacious battle and in that time, SuperCity had become the very antithesis of what it had represented. A city intended to be a symbol of hope and prosperity for all to follow had become diluted into a desolate wasteland, isolated from the rest of the world. Gone were the brightly lit, welcoming streets that were commonplace and so was the hope of the people...
The city had been abandoned by nearly all of it's residents, most had saw the writing on the wall, leaving it to be occupied by heartless machines, controlled by a clairvoyant plague fed to their minds. For the very few that remained, any attempts at resistance would quickly be stomped out for this was a city of evil. With both Max and Surge out of the picture, it appeared things were going to stay that way for a long, long time...
A muscle car would soon pass into the city. It's blue and grey paint job appeared garish in contrast to its dull surroundings and the driver knew it. He didn't pay much mind to all the omens that passed him by. The abandoned bridge he had rode on, the lack of a city skyline, the fact that he was yet to see a single soul around, and chief among them was what he considered his best friend...
He had heard of at least some of the news; corrupted robots taking over what appeared to be an impenetrable city thanks to those who kept it safe. As usual, he tried his best to stay optimistic about the situation, hoping that everything had been blown way out of proportion. There was no way all this could possibly happen, or at least that's what he kept telling himself...
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon...!" muttered the driver as he stepped out of his vehicle, splashing a shoe onto a rain-filled pothole, revealing none other than Brock. He took a few steps forward and once he had given himself the time to observe his surroundings, Brock was completely beside himself when his darting eyes caught just a glimpse of the devastation far off in the distance. It was something he had never seen before. Something straight out of a videogame, yet something beyond the work of fiction. Brock took a step back, nearly tripping over the pothole but for now at least... he maintained his composure.
Brock found himself standing in a city he once knew, something he could now consider uncharted territory. By now, the pouring rain had washed away all sense of direction for him. He looked into the distance once again, frantically rubbing his eyes, not willing to accept what his eyes were relaying back to him. Skyscrapers with massive gaping holes under a tainted moonlight. Not a single other light to illuminate the harrowing darkness was to be found aside from a massive purple beam that pierced the sky itself. It was something Brock couldn't make any sense of.
Uncertainty and unease now perfumed the air Brock had stood so perfectly still in for quite some time, completely stunned, and woeful, while more cold droplets continued to fall. Brock whipped out his phone and put it up to his ear, pacing in place, awaiting a response that never came. After some time had passed, Brock gave in, slinging the phone down with a sharp sigh, and then... pure silence. The rain had ended and it felt like time had stood still. That was when, suddenly, a red dot had crept up to his chest. By the time he had noticed and looked up, Brock was staring deep into the barrel of a distant revolver.
Brock's heart skipped a beat and for a mere moment, his entire body was frozen. That was until a rush of adrenaline had possessed him. Brock immediately sprang, dropping his phone in the process and inadvertently dodging a bullet sent toward him. Brock then clumsily slid over the hood of his car, seeking safety behind the vehicle as a plethora of bullets were fired all around while he curled away from shattering glass.
"Ey, ey, ey, w-we can talk this out!--We could can talk it out! Just--Just chill!" Brock continued to cower while two robots began to converge on his position. His pleas as a voice of reason had fallen on deaf ears. He pressed a button placed on his watch, one that displayed a blinking lightning bolt, eventually displaying no signal, only proving to dishearten Brock more. Dread was looming. Fear was at an all-time high. Time was running out fast and hope was scarce at best. Brock tried his very best to catch his breath, preparing for the very worst to come.
Brock's attackers maintained their fire right up until a single, thunderous boom roared, putting a swift end to the commotion. Nonetheless, Brock remained tense, far too afraid to take as little as a peak behind himself or speak for that matter. In the distance, he heard a voice break the unsettling silence. "Ooh, gotta say that one hurt to watch. Thanks for the target practice, guys."
Brock kept his head downward in his lap as he shivered non-stop. He could hear clanking spurs that would grow louder right up until it felt like something was looming over him.
"Heh. Someone's late to the party..." That voice, it was familiar to Brock. All of a sudden, most of that tension had plummeted and a feeling of comfort slowly filled his body. Brock rested his shoulders, opened his eyes, and began to slowly raise his head.
"...I understand, my invitation got lost in the mail too... Here. Think this belongs to you." Said Brock's protector as his newly cracked smartphone fell onto his lap. He picked his head up completely to see one dashing sheriff with a strikingly confident smirk on his face.
Brock: "...C-Colt?"
The smirk written on Colt's face only brightened. "The one and only. Unless there's someone 'round here's been slinging guns as sexily as I do of course."
Brock: "Well--"
Colt: "Yeah, I thought so. You look like someone who could use a hand, Brock."
Colt offered his hand to Brock, who was more than willing to accept. He stood up to see both of his attackers absolutely floored, each with a gaping bullet hole in their head, their exit wounds still sizzling. Soon after, beeping could be heard from behind. One of their heads would begin twitching, flashing between purple and green, signaling that this wasn't over. An annoyed groan broke from Colt's mouth. "Okay, looks like the show's not over... you back for seconds?"
The bot got back to it's feet as if it were possessed by yet another outside force. Colt readied a revolver, "...I can help with that." then fired at it once more effortlessly and turned back to Brock, anticipating a thud that never sounded off. In addition to the frantic twitching, the head sparked and a black liquid with a greenish hue began leaking from it while Colt fired another ineffective bullet. The head only spins around from the impact, leaving Colt to furrow his brows. "What the...?" The sparking only intensified until the head had popped like a balloon and out burst green, squirming, slimy parasitic ringlets soaked in that same liquid.
"Just when I thought I'd seen it all. Brock, you might wanna--*WOOAHH--" said Colt as those tendrils wrapped around his wrists and tossed him aside directly into Brock's windshield, cracking it and leaving one of his revolvers behind that landed beside Brock. It was now just him and the corrupted, mutated robot. Even with the opportunity to defend himself, Brock's entire body tensed up, his eyes racing between the metal monster and the revolver.
Brock took some steps back, tripping over himself, and was then held up by the neck. The parasite continued to squeeze as his life began slipping away. All Brock wanted to do was plead with his words but even at that, what he could muster were merely restrained gasps for air.
"Hey, wormy...!" Shouted Colt as a handful of stones hit Brock's attacker from behind, who dropped him, asserting all of it's attention back to Colt, writhing with pain yet still able to continue. "...Gonna take just a little more to keep me down." The steel monster's tendrils formed an axe head and swung it down toward Colt, who split his legs, narrowly managing to evade the attack.
Colt gulped and rolled off the hood of Brock's muscle car, reloading his single revolver with haste as the bot recovered. "Aaaaand gotcha." Colt slams at the hammer, releasing a flurry of bullets that would hit their target all over. Once again, the metal monster was hardly bothered by Colt's attack. The confident look on Colt's face quickly turned to one of mild panic. He looked down at his belt, only to be interrupted with his signature weapon of choice easily batted out his hand.
Colt flushed with a small amount of fear. "Any chance for a timeout--?" Colt ducks another attack and boots the bot in the chest, creating some distance between each other as Colt heads back for his revolver. Right when Colt retrieves the weapon, his ankle becomes entangled by his foe, causing him to once again drop the weapon, dragging him backward. By now both Colt and Brock were eye-to-eye with each other. Brock was still grounded, mesmerized, his knees weak with fear, seemingly unable to function.
"Brock, what're you doing...?" Asked Colt as he struggled, inching closer toward what appears to be certain doom. "I know I'm too pretty for this world but now's really not the time for admiration!"
"I-I--I can't just--What about you?"
"I can handle myself. Believe me..." Said Colt as he loosened his boot. "...So either zip it and get to running or uhh... okay, I guess we could all use some help every once in a while..."
Ever so timid, Brock looked down to Colt's other revolver and paused.
"Don't tell me you don't know how to use that..." Colt could already tell Brock's next words by the incompetence etched on his face. "--You're kidding." Colt manages to slip out of the parasite's grasp, losing a boot in the process. Brock held Colt's revolver, trembling, still unsure of himself. Colt picked up his boot and threw it at the tendrils, briefly stunning the creature and giving Colt the time to remove one of many abnormally large, silver bullets from his belt. "Y'know what, I'll take it from here."
Brock silently nodded and tosses Colt his revolver who then takes aim right at the core of the mutation. "Still hungry? Maybe try some of this!" The silver bullet blasts right through the parasite which lets out a high-pitched shriek as more of that viscous black fluid flows. The body of the bot fell to the ground, the creature still squirming around, still alive. Colt frantically stomps at it until it stops moving, getting some of that liquid on himself and finally putting an end to the conflict.
After calming himself, an exasperated Colt kept his eyes locked on what he had defeated, put off at the sight. "...Sheesh. I was almost a shiskabob, and my clothes...!" Colt kneeled, rubbing his finger on the black ink and putting it up to his nose. "gags No way that's oil. Guess Pam was right..." Colt said to himself before turning to Brock. "...Think I should lick it?"
Brock was still visibly struggling to catch his breath and Colt seemed to take no mind to that. "I'm just messing around, Brock, thought you'd know that by now. But anyway, on to more pressing matters... how's the hair?--Any out of place?--any more of whatever this stuff is on the face?--I gotta know."
Brock had finally caught his breath. "I think... I think you're good... What even was that?"
Colt shrugged. "Beats me. All that matters is whatever that thing was is done for and we're still standing. Ain't that right?"
"...Right."
"Right, right... never do that again by the way."
"...Do what--?"
Colt blew out the simmering smoke coming from his revolver. "Don't want to alarm ya but Christmas ain't gonna be here for another five months. What exactly were you waiting for--? Maybe I'm giving you just a bit too much credit here but you've given me so many kickings in Shotgun Shootout that I thought maybe all that time staring at a screen would translate well into the real world... still want another rematch by the way."
Brock solemnly smiled. "You just don't know when to give up, do you? You really wanna get your ass handed to ya for... jeez, I lost count too."
Colt: "--Shush, sh--sh, sh, sh... sh! ...Okay? Those were all flukes and you know it. Besides, I hate shotguns. Got one too many reasons to hate 'em back home and now there's this. Where's the skill in using them anyway? No wonder why you struggled to use one of these..." Colt eyed his revolver and yawned. "...Anyway, long time, no see, huh? How's the day been treating ya? Bet it's been goin' great so far."
Brock: "I'm uh... you know, doing fine. As fine as I can be after... that."
Colt: "Heh, y'know a "Thank you, Colt, you sexy gunslinger, you." would be nice for a change..."
Brock sighed. "...Thanks, Colt."
Colt tilted his head and smiled obnoxiously. "Come on. You can say the rest. I mean, you still kinda owe me one for fending off those punks from Retropolis and that's the least you can do..." An awkward silence had been cast over the two. "...Okay fine, just a "thank you" will do."
"So, um..." Brock scratched his head. "You got any clue what's going on here?"
Colt: "Psh, no time to explain. From what I've heard so far it's a loooooong story anyway. So, ya done with the questions 'cause I got a whole lotta of my own so if you'll excuse me... I'm here to save the day and look good doing it. Now why are you here?"
Brock would keep quiet, a little uneasy about himself as usual. Feeling a little slighted, Colt crossed his arms, looking back at Brock's ruined ride. "Eh, it's only a scratch but hey, if ya really want me to, I can just help you right on out the city."
Brock: "No, no--I... I ain't leaving, not yet."
Colt raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's certainly a choice--a stupid one but still definitely a choice. Here to help with the load, huh? That's not to say I need it of course."
Brock looked off into the distance."I guess that's one way to put it..."
Colt scoffed. "Don't mean to judge but judging by how you handled your little situation back there... I take it you didn't bring anything for self-defense or uh, any defending for that matter..."
Brock scratched his head nervously. "Yeah..."
"Heh. Nice going, Brock. So... what, you can't afford a good ol' fashioned six shooter? Didn't realize your arcade was going out of business, what happened to you lighting up the dancefloor as a DJ?" Colt asked with a load of sarcasm in his tongue.
Brock: "I'm hoping you know not every problem can be solved with a gun, Colt."
Colt rolled his eyes. "What're you, my mother? Of course, I know that..."
Brock: "Oh. Great. Nice to know we're on the same pa--"
Colt: "Which is why I use two. Now I want you to consider this: would you rather get put six feet under by some no-name junk buckets or dish out some butt-kickings yourself with one of these bad boys?" [Spins revolver] "Answer's pretty obvious, ain't it?"
Brock once again wouldn't answer Colt.
Colt: "...Right? Look, I'm not saying to bust out a whole friggin' rocket launcher or something but, come on now."
"Okay, okay... maybe you got a point..." Brock chuckled his nervousness off, plunging both of his hands into his pockets. "But, umm, I guess I also have something to let off my chest. I'm here for a reason and it's probably not one you're thinking of..."
Colt: "Yeah, no kidding. Must be one helluva of a reason to bring you to this place too... ah screw it, I'll bite. What really is it that brings you here? There are easier ways to kill yourself, y'know."
Brock chuckled nervously then rolled his eyes with a level of snark that matched Colt. "Just looking for a friend--maybe friend(s) would be the better word."
"Good thing you got me." Intrigued, Colt tilted his head forward with an enthralled eyebrow raise. "This friend got a name?"
Brock: "Oh yeah... It's... it's..."
Colt: "Come on, spit it out."
Brock: "...it's 8-Bit."
Colt: "...Oh. I'm sure he's doing just mighty fine right about now. After all, he's totally a bounty hunter sent from space. He might've told you that maybe one or a billion times."
Brock: "Err, that's Rico and yeah, you're right. You telling me you don't remember 8-Bit? You kinda spilled some soda on him that time you got just a little too heated on Project Laser..."
Colt: "Really?--Oh. Yeah. Think you're starting to ring a bell..." A smile cracked from Colt's mouth. "I'll admit it was a little funny watching 'em squirm around like there were bees in his circuits..."
Colt began snickering as his eyes drifted away from Brock, who wasn't exactly approving of Colt's tone. "...But, sorry."
Brock: "All good. Need to keep jogging that memory of yours? He's about this tall, on the stumpier side of things... wears these blue Converses, pretty adorable too, definitely no vest-- trust me, I couldn't get him to wear one if I tried. His tracker's led me to the city, the thing is--"
Brock stopped himself after he noticed that Colt had grown awfully silent. He just stood there, looking like he was possibly hiding something. Brock himself had grown curious.
Brock: "...It's kinda jammed. Did... did I say something--?"
Colt: "Yeah, actually. Good thing Rico didn't tag along with ya... okay--look, I'll just break the news to ya right away. I don't think you're gonna be finding your little buddy anytime soon. At least in the way you remember him..."
Brock: "For real? Wha--Why?"
Colt: "Huh. I guess there is time to explain. You're barking up the wrong tree here but, apparently, so don't shoot the messenger, the little guy's the one behind all of..." Colt paused, looking back over to the robots he put out of commission. "...this."
Brock batted his eyes in disbelief. "I know you like to mess around and stuff but I don't think now's the time to be joking."
Colt: "Wish I was. Really do. Didn't realize you and a certain starfish had much more in common because clearly, you've been living under a rock. Haven't you heard of the news?"
Brock: "Yeah--kinda--but I ain't hearing that noise. He wouldn't do this. He wouldn't do any of this."
Colt: "Well you better get those ears checked. Felt like his vibe was always off whenever I was around him. You sure he wasn't planning to go all goblin mode or something when you first found him?"
Brock: "N-No?! Sure he's been a little more quiet than usual for the past week or so but--"
Colt: "What're you even gonna do when you see him, huh? sideyes revolver smugly I know what I will... when the time's right I'll definitely be giving that thing what it deserves."
Brock: "Thing? That's my friend--!"
Colt: "Was. He was your friend..."
Brock kept his silence, giving himself much-needed time to gather his thoughts. "...If, and that's a big if, what you say is true... I'm gonna get him back. Something's gotta be controlling him."
Colt burst out laughing. "--Hahahahahaha--you're, breaths in you're... continues laughing ...you're serious?" Colt continued with his amused laughter as Brock only appeared more and more annoyed.
Brock crossed his arms as the laughter went on. "You done?" Colt's laughter died down a bit. "Hold on... just--just gimme a moment... laughs ...man, sorry, I had to get that outta my system. Hit me with that again, you wanna do what now?"
Brock: "I'm bringing him home. Don't matter how, I just want my friend back."
Colt: "Whew, you're lucky I pity you. So how exactly do you plan on doing that? Still losing that oh-so-good circulation to your brain?--Have you had a little too much to drink? I know that's rich coming from a guy who proposed to a mannequin but if both Surge and what's-her-face couldn't take 'em out, what chance do you have?
Brock froze up. "...What?"
"Just go home kid, this is one game you'll never win."
Brock: "I--"
Colt: "You heard me, Brock. Go home, kid."
Brock: "...You're just four ye--"
"Yeah, yeah." Ragged Colt, who turned and began strutting away, retrieving his other revolver, sticking out two fingers and waving them as a goodbye. "We'll do that rematch sometime later. Now if you'll excuse me, I got a city to save on my--"
"Wait...!" Colt had stopped in his tracks, still turned away from Brock.
"...What about Max and Surge?"
Colt turned his head slightly toward Brock. "So that's her name... you tellin' me you don't know?"
"Know what...?!"
Colt's face turned from confidently smug to somewhat remorseful. "...They're gone."
Sorrow had touched Brock's heart. Once again, he took a step back, completely stunned, unable to cobble together any words.
Colt folded his arms. "Something wrong?--Need a pinch or two? Maybe some water over the face?"
"...S...S-So they're--?"
Colt: "Yeah. Probably. If you wanna go down that rabbit hole then be my guest. Just know you'll never climb out of it. They haven't been seen in over a day now. I dunno what else to tell ya but what do you expect out of a glorified tin can and an impulsive rookie during the apocalypse?"
A cold shiver ran down Brock's spine as Colt continued. "...If I was in their place things would be peachy right about now, believe me. Now we've all been left high and dry and guess who's fault that is. Hope ya know 8-Bit's not gonna stop until this is far, far worse..."
Wrenched by guilt and despair, Brock couldn't help but turn away from Colt. He couldn't bear looking him in the eye.
"...Which is why we're gonna stop him, right?"
Brock looked up to see Colt with a hopeful, earnest smile on his face. His breathing had steadied and Brock nodded his head a handful of times. "...Right. Right. I just wanna talk with him."
"Sorry. Not in the job description. You said something about a tracker, yes?"
"...Yeah."
"Perfect. You won't have to worry about it. I'm sure we can get it fixed."
"We?"
"Yeah. We. You'll see what I'm talking about later. In fact, I got a whole lotta stuff to show you, especially with what 8-Bit's done..."
"I'll... I'll see it when I believe it, Colt." Said Brock, not much confidence coming from his mouth.
Colt scoffed hard. "Oh, you will when you're staring right into the stuff of your nightmares. Can't say I didn't say "I told ya so" when that happens. But hey--if it makes you feel any better I'm almost as confused as you are. Some fun-sized arcade machine? He's responsible for the mess I gotta clean up...?" Colt scoffed again. "Give me a break..."
All of a sudden, that silence had returned yet again. Colt sat on some nearby pavement, his hands clasped together, his face etched with a subtle amount of remorse while Brock was left to observe.
The rest of Colt's bitterness subsided. "...Sorry I sort of blew a gasket back there. I... exhales things have been so rough lately. This... all of this, it happened so fast... I couldn't help as much as I could've. I Don't want you or anyone else that hasn't already to get hurt. I know you wanna help your friend and I get that, but I seriously can't hammer this home enough. Trust me. I've been in this game long enough to know there's next to no hope of getting the little guy the help he needs. That's to say he even can be lended help, aside from a few bullet holes to the screen, of course..."
Brock: "It's... it's cool. Apology accepted. Maybe you're right, I am a little outta my depth but I gotta do what I can. If 8-Bit really is outta control here, I gotta do something about it. Gotta right some wrongs."
Colt: "That's the spirit but... yeah--you know what?" Colt got back up. "...As much as I'd love to blast more and more of these things to pieces 'til the sun comes back up, we should probably just pick up the slack before more of them come out to play--for your sake I mean, not mine."
With a mystery ignited, Brock nodded while Colt brushed passed him. Brock fails to follow, his mind still occupied by 8-Bit, by Max and Surge, by all the unanswered questions surrounding them, prompting Colt to turn back and raise an eyebrow.
Colt: "So, you comin' with, or are you just gonna enjoy the view? Or maybe, just maybe, the second thoughts are finally kicking in, hmm? To be honest, I wouldn't blame ya." Colt extended his hand into the air, signaling that the rain had returned. "Aw, my hair!--Have you made up your mind? I don't--okay well I sorta do have all day but think of my hair!"
"...Oh--uh--y-yeah, I'm comin' with, it's just..." Brock looked back over to his muscle car and sighed heavily. "...Oh man...! I guess it is still usable. Are we not taking my ride?"
Colt: "Yeah, no. You're pretty much begging for trouble riding around in that thing going forward. Best to keep things slow and steady for now so come on, let's get this show on the road already. We've got things to do."
Brock sighed lightly. "Okay..."
Colt: "Don't think you'll have to worry about a parking ticket--so hey, there's that. Now remember, this face? He's your guardian angel if you couldn't tell, and this place? Probably gonna eat ya alive if you're not careful so make sure you stick to me like glue... d-don't actually do that, I'm as uncomfortable as is already ."
Brock: "I think I got it..."
Colt: "Alright then, 'bout time we got going..."
submitted by ExcuseMeWTF50 to brawlstarswriters [link] [comments]
The city had been abandoned by nearly all of it's residents, most had saw the writing on the wall, leaving it to be occupied by heartless machines, controlled by a clairvoyant plague fed to their minds. For the very few that remained, any attempts at resistance would quickly be stomped out for this was a city of evil. With both Max and Surge out of the picture, it appeared things were going to stay that way for a long, long time...
A muscle car would soon pass into the city. It's blue and grey paint job appeared garish in contrast to its dull surroundings and the driver knew it. He didn't pay much mind to all the omens that passed him by. The abandoned bridge he had rode on, the lack of a city skyline, the fact that he was yet to see a single soul around, and chief among them was what he considered his best friend...
He had heard of at least some of the news; corrupted robots taking over what appeared to be an impenetrable city thanks to those who kept it safe. As usual, he tried his best to stay optimistic about the situation, hoping that everything had been blown way out of proportion. There was no way all this could possibly happen, or at least that's what he kept telling himself...
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon...!" muttered the driver as he stepped out of his vehicle, splashing a shoe onto a rain-filled pothole, revealing none other than Brock. He took a few steps forward and once he had given himself the time to observe his surroundings, Brock was completely beside himself when his darting eyes caught just a glimpse of the devastation far off in the distance. It was something he had never seen before. Something straight out of a videogame, yet something beyond the work of fiction. Brock took a step back, nearly tripping over the pothole but for now at least... he maintained his composure.
Brock found himself standing in a city he once knew, something he could now consider uncharted territory. By now, the pouring rain had washed away all sense of direction for him. He looked into the distance once again, frantically rubbing his eyes, not willing to accept what his eyes were relaying back to him. Skyscrapers with massive gaping holes under a tainted moonlight. Not a single other light to illuminate the harrowing darkness was to be found aside from a massive purple beam that pierced the sky itself. It was something Brock couldn't make any sense of.
Uncertainty and unease now perfumed the air Brock had stood so perfectly still in for quite some time, completely stunned, and woeful, while more cold droplets continued to fall. Brock whipped out his phone and put it up to his ear, pacing in place, awaiting a response that never came. After some time had passed, Brock gave in, slinging the phone down with a sharp sigh, and then... pure silence. The rain had ended and it felt like time had stood still. That was when, suddenly, a red dot had crept up to his chest. By the time he had noticed and looked up, Brock was staring deep into the barrel of a distant revolver.
Brock's heart skipped a beat and for a mere moment, his entire body was frozen. That was until a rush of adrenaline had possessed him. Brock immediately sprang, dropping his phone in the process and inadvertently dodging a bullet sent toward him. Brock then clumsily slid over the hood of his car, seeking safety behind the vehicle as a plethora of bullets were fired all around while he curled away from shattering glass.
"Ey, ey, ey, w-we can talk this out!--We could can talk it out! Just--Just chill!" Brock continued to cower while two robots began to converge on his position. His pleas as a voice of reason had fallen on deaf ears. He pressed a button placed on his watch, one that displayed a blinking lightning bolt, eventually displaying no signal, only proving to dishearten Brock more. Dread was looming. Fear was at an all-time high. Time was running out fast and hope was scarce at best. Brock tried his very best to catch his breath, preparing for the very worst to come.
Brock's attackers maintained their fire right up until a single, thunderous boom roared, putting a swift end to the commotion. Nonetheless, Brock remained tense, far too afraid to take as little as a peak behind himself or speak for that matter. In the distance, he heard a voice break the unsettling silence. "Ooh, gotta say that one hurt to watch. Thanks for the target practice, guys."
Brock kept his head downward in his lap as he shivered non-stop. He could hear clanking spurs that would grow louder right up until it felt like something was looming over him.
"Heh. Someone's late to the party..." That voice, it was familiar to Brock. All of a sudden, most of that tension had plummeted and a feeling of comfort slowly filled his body. Brock rested his shoulders, opened his eyes, and began to slowly raise his head.
"...I understand, my invitation got lost in the mail too... Here. Think this belongs to you." Said Brock's protector as his newly cracked smartphone fell onto his lap. He picked his head up completely to see one dashing sheriff with a strikingly confident smirk on his face.
Brock: "...C-Colt?"
The smirk written on Colt's face only brightened. "The one and only. Unless there's someone 'round here's been slinging guns as sexily as I do of course."
Brock: "Well--"
Colt: "Yeah, I thought so. You look like someone who could use a hand, Brock."
Colt offered his hand to Brock, who was more than willing to accept. He stood up to see both of his attackers absolutely floored, each with a gaping bullet hole in their head, their exit wounds still sizzling. Soon after, beeping could be heard from behind. One of their heads would begin twitching, flashing between purple and green, signaling that this wasn't over. An annoyed groan broke from Colt's mouth. "Okay, looks like the show's not over... you back for seconds?"
The bot got back to it's feet as if it were possessed by yet another outside force. Colt readied a revolver, "...I can help with that." then fired at it once more effortlessly and turned back to Brock, anticipating a thud that never sounded off. In addition to the frantic twitching, the head sparked and a black liquid with a greenish hue began leaking from it while Colt fired another ineffective bullet. The head only spins around from the impact, leaving Colt to furrow his brows. "What the...?" The sparking only intensified until the head had popped like a balloon and out burst green, squirming, slimy parasitic ringlets soaked in that same liquid.
"Just when I thought I'd seen it all. Brock, you might wanna--*WOOAHH--" said Colt as those tendrils wrapped around his wrists and tossed him aside directly into Brock's windshield, cracking it and leaving one of his revolvers behind that landed beside Brock. It was now just him and the corrupted, mutated robot. Even with the opportunity to defend himself, Brock's entire body tensed up, his eyes racing between the metal monster and the revolver.
Brock took some steps back, tripping over himself, and was then held up by the neck. The parasite continued to squeeze as his life began slipping away. All Brock wanted to do was plead with his words but even at that, what he could muster were merely restrained gasps for air.
"Hey, wormy...!" Shouted Colt as a handful of stones hit Brock's attacker from behind, who dropped him, asserting all of it's attention back to Colt, writhing with pain yet still able to continue. "...Gonna take just a little more to keep me down." The steel monster's tendrils formed an axe head and swung it down toward Colt, who split his legs, narrowly managing to evade the attack.
Colt gulped and rolled off the hood of Brock's muscle car, reloading his single revolver with haste as the bot recovered. "Aaaaand gotcha." Colt slams at the hammer, releasing a flurry of bullets that would hit their target all over. Once again, the metal monster was hardly bothered by Colt's attack. The confident look on Colt's face quickly turned to one of mild panic. He looked down at his belt, only to be interrupted with his signature weapon of choice easily batted out his hand.
Colt flushed with a small amount of fear. "Any chance for a timeout--?" Colt ducks another attack and boots the bot in the chest, creating some distance between each other as Colt heads back for his revolver. Right when Colt retrieves the weapon, his ankle becomes entangled by his foe, causing him to once again drop the weapon, dragging him backward. By now both Colt and Brock were eye-to-eye with each other. Brock was still grounded, mesmerized, his knees weak with fear, seemingly unable to function.
"Brock, what're you doing...?" Asked Colt as he struggled, inching closer toward what appears to be certain doom. "I know I'm too pretty for this world but now's really not the time for admiration!"
"I-I--I can't just--What about you?"
"I can handle myself. Believe me..." Said Colt as he loosened his boot. "...So either zip it and get to running or uhh... okay, I guess we could all use some help every once in a while..."
Ever so timid, Brock looked down to Colt's other revolver and paused.
"Don't tell me you don't know how to use that..." Colt could already tell Brock's next words by the incompetence etched on his face. "--You're kidding." Colt manages to slip out of the parasite's grasp, losing a boot in the process. Brock held Colt's revolver, trembling, still unsure of himself. Colt picked up his boot and threw it at the tendrils, briefly stunning the creature and giving Colt the time to remove one of many abnormally large, silver bullets from his belt. "Y'know what, I'll take it from here."
Brock silently nodded and tosses Colt his revolver who then takes aim right at the core of the mutation. "Still hungry? Maybe try some of this!" The silver bullet blasts right through the parasite which lets out a high-pitched shriek as more of that viscous black fluid flows. The body of the bot fell to the ground, the creature still squirming around, still alive. Colt frantically stomps at it until it stops moving, getting some of that liquid on himself and finally putting an end to the conflict.
After calming himself, an exasperated Colt kept his eyes locked on what he had defeated, put off at the sight. "...Sheesh. I was almost a shiskabob, and my clothes...!" Colt kneeled, rubbing his finger on the black ink and putting it up to his nose. "gags No way that's oil. Guess Pam was right..." Colt said to himself before turning to Brock. "...Think I should lick it?"
Brock was still visibly struggling to catch his breath and Colt seemed to take no mind to that. "I'm just messing around, Brock, thought you'd know that by now. But anyway, on to more pressing matters... how's the hair?--Any out of place?--any more of whatever this stuff is on the face?--I gotta know."
Brock had finally caught his breath. "I think... I think you're good... What even was that?"
Colt shrugged. "Beats me. All that matters is whatever that thing was is done for and we're still standing. Ain't that right?"
"...Right."
"Right, right... never do that again by the way."
"...Do what--?"
Colt blew out the simmering smoke coming from his revolver. "Don't want to alarm ya but Christmas ain't gonna be here for another five months. What exactly were you waiting for--? Maybe I'm giving you just a bit too much credit here but you've given me so many kickings in Shotgun Shootout that I thought maybe all that time staring at a screen would translate well into the real world... still want another rematch by the way."
Brock solemnly smiled. "You just don't know when to give up, do you? You really wanna get your ass handed to ya for... jeez, I lost count too."
Colt: "--Shush, sh--sh, sh, sh... sh! ...Okay? Those were all flukes and you know it. Besides, I hate shotguns. Got one too many reasons to hate 'em back home and now there's this. Where's the skill in using them anyway? No wonder why you struggled to use one of these..." Colt eyed his revolver and yawned. "...Anyway, long time, no see, huh? How's the day been treating ya? Bet it's been goin' great so far."
Brock: "I'm uh... you know, doing fine. As fine as I can be after... that."
Colt: "Heh, y'know a "Thank you, Colt, you sexy gunslinger, you." would be nice for a change..."
Brock sighed. "...Thanks, Colt."
Colt tilted his head and smiled obnoxiously. "Come on. You can say the rest. I mean, you still kinda owe me one for fending off those punks from Retropolis and that's the least you can do..." An awkward silence had been cast over the two. "...Okay fine, just a "thank you" will do."
"So, um..." Brock scratched his head. "You got any clue what's going on here?"
Colt: "Psh, no time to explain. From what I've heard so far it's a loooooong story anyway. So, ya done with the questions 'cause I got a whole lotta of my own so if you'll excuse me... I'm here to save the day and look good doing it. Now why are you here?"
Brock would keep quiet, a little uneasy about himself as usual. Feeling a little slighted, Colt crossed his arms, looking back at Brock's ruined ride. "Eh, it's only a scratch but hey, if ya really want me to, I can just help you right on out the city."
Brock: "No, no--I... I ain't leaving, not yet."
Colt raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's certainly a choice--a stupid one but still definitely a choice. Here to help with the load, huh? That's not to say I need it of course."
Brock looked off into the distance."I guess that's one way to put it..."
Colt scoffed. "Don't mean to judge but judging by how you handled your little situation back there... I take it you didn't bring anything for self-defense or uh, any defending for that matter..."
Brock scratched his head nervously. "Yeah..."
"Heh. Nice going, Brock. So... what, you can't afford a good ol' fashioned six shooter? Didn't realize your arcade was going out of business, what happened to you lighting up the dancefloor as a DJ?" Colt asked with a load of sarcasm in his tongue.
Brock: "I'm hoping you know not every problem can be solved with a gun, Colt."
Colt rolled his eyes. "What're you, my mother? Of course, I know that..."
Brock: "Oh. Great. Nice to know we're on the same pa--"
Colt: "Which is why I use two. Now I want you to consider this: would you rather get put six feet under by some no-name junk buckets or dish out some butt-kickings yourself with one of these bad boys?" [Spins revolver] "Answer's pretty obvious, ain't it?"
Brock once again wouldn't answer Colt.
Colt: "...Right? Look, I'm not saying to bust out a whole friggin' rocket launcher or something but, come on now."
"Okay, okay... maybe you got a point..." Brock chuckled his nervousness off, plunging both of his hands into his pockets. "But, umm, I guess I also have something to let off my chest. I'm here for a reason and it's probably not one you're thinking of..."
Colt: "Yeah, no kidding. Must be one helluva of a reason to bring you to this place too... ah screw it, I'll bite. What really is it that brings you here? There are easier ways to kill yourself, y'know."
Brock chuckled nervously then rolled his eyes with a level of snark that matched Colt. "Just looking for a friend--maybe friend(s) would be the better word."
"Good thing you got me." Intrigued, Colt tilted his head forward with an enthralled eyebrow raise. "This friend got a name?"
Brock: "Oh yeah... It's... it's..."
Colt: "Come on, spit it out."
Brock: "...it's 8-Bit."
Colt: "...Oh. I'm sure he's doing just mighty fine right about now. After all, he's totally a bounty hunter sent from space. He might've told you that maybe one or a billion times."
Brock: "Err, that's Rico and yeah, you're right. You telling me you don't remember 8-Bit? You kinda spilled some soda on him that time you got just a little too heated on Project Laser..."
Colt: "Really?--Oh. Yeah. Think you're starting to ring a bell..." A smile cracked from Colt's mouth. "I'll admit it was a little funny watching 'em squirm around like there were bees in his circuits..."
Colt began snickering as his eyes drifted away from Brock, who wasn't exactly approving of Colt's tone. "...But, sorry."
Brock: "All good. Need to keep jogging that memory of yours? He's about this tall, on the stumpier side of things... wears these blue Converses, pretty adorable too, definitely no vest-- trust me, I couldn't get him to wear one if I tried. His tracker's led me to the city, the thing is--"
Brock stopped himself after he noticed that Colt had grown awfully silent. He just stood there, looking like he was possibly hiding something. Brock himself had grown curious.
Brock: "...It's kinda jammed. Did... did I say something--?"
Colt: "Yeah, actually. Good thing Rico didn't tag along with ya... okay--look, I'll just break the news to ya right away. I don't think you're gonna be finding your little buddy anytime soon. At least in the way you remember him..."
Brock: "For real? Wha--Why?"
Colt: "Huh. I guess there is time to explain. You're barking up the wrong tree here but, apparently, so don't shoot the messenger, the little guy's the one behind all of..." Colt paused, looking back over to the robots he put out of commission. "...this."
Brock batted his eyes in disbelief. "I know you like to mess around and stuff but I don't think now's the time to be joking."
Colt: "Wish I was. Really do. Didn't realize you and a certain starfish had much more in common because clearly, you've been living under a rock. Haven't you heard of the news?"
Brock: "Yeah--kinda--but I ain't hearing that noise. He wouldn't do this. He wouldn't do any of this."
Colt: "Well you better get those ears checked. Felt like his vibe was always off whenever I was around him. You sure he wasn't planning to go all goblin mode or something when you first found him?"
Brock: "N-No?! Sure he's been a little more quiet than usual for the past week or so but--"
Colt: "What're you even gonna do when you see him, huh? sideyes revolver smugly I know what I will... when the time's right I'll definitely be giving that thing what it deserves."
Brock: "Thing? That's my friend--!"
Colt: "Was. He was your friend..."
Brock kept his silence, giving himself much-needed time to gather his thoughts. "...If, and that's a big if, what you say is true... I'm gonna get him back. Something's gotta be controlling him."
Colt burst out laughing. "--Hahahahahaha--you're, breaths in you're... continues laughing ...you're serious?" Colt continued with his amused laughter as Brock only appeared more and more annoyed.
Brock crossed his arms as the laughter went on. "You done?" Colt's laughter died down a bit. "Hold on... just--just gimme a moment... laughs ...man, sorry, I had to get that outta my system. Hit me with that again, you wanna do what now?"
Brock: "I'm bringing him home. Don't matter how, I just want my friend back."
Colt: "Whew, you're lucky I pity you. So how exactly do you plan on doing that? Still losing that oh-so-good circulation to your brain?--Have you had a little too much to drink? I know that's rich coming from a guy who proposed to a mannequin but if both Surge and what's-her-face couldn't take 'em out, what chance do you have?
Brock froze up. "...What?"
"Just go home kid, this is one game you'll never win."
Brock: "I--"
Colt: "You heard me, Brock. Go home, kid."
Brock: "...You're just four ye--"
"Yeah, yeah." Ragged Colt, who turned and began strutting away, retrieving his other revolver, sticking out two fingers and waving them as a goodbye. "We'll do that rematch sometime later. Now if you'll excuse me, I got a city to save on my--"
"Wait...!" Colt had stopped in his tracks, still turned away from Brock.
"...What about Max and Surge?"
Colt turned his head slightly toward Brock. "So that's her name... you tellin' me you don't know?"
"Know what...?!"
Colt's face turned from confidently smug to somewhat remorseful. "...They're gone."
Sorrow had touched Brock's heart. Once again, he took a step back, completely stunned, unable to cobble together any words.
Colt folded his arms. "Something wrong?--Need a pinch or two? Maybe some water over the face?"
"...S...S-So they're--?"
Colt: "Yeah. Probably. If you wanna go down that rabbit hole then be my guest. Just know you'll never climb out of it. They haven't been seen in over a day now. I dunno what else to tell ya but what do you expect out of a glorified tin can and an impulsive rookie during the apocalypse?"
A cold shiver ran down Brock's spine as Colt continued. "...If I was in their place things would be peachy right about now, believe me. Now we've all been left high and dry and guess who's fault that is. Hope ya know 8-Bit's not gonna stop until this is far, far worse..."
Wrenched by guilt and despair, Brock couldn't help but turn away from Colt. He couldn't bear looking him in the eye.
"...Which is why we're gonna stop him, right?"
Brock looked up to see Colt with a hopeful, earnest smile on his face. His breathing had steadied and Brock nodded his head a handful of times. "...Right. Right. I just wanna talk with him."
"Sorry. Not in the job description. You said something about a tracker, yes?"
"...Yeah."
"Perfect. You won't have to worry about it. I'm sure we can get it fixed."
"We?"
"Yeah. We. You'll see what I'm talking about later. In fact, I got a whole lotta stuff to show you, especially with what 8-Bit's done..."
"I'll... I'll see it when I believe it, Colt." Said Brock, not much confidence coming from his mouth.
Colt scoffed hard. "Oh, you will when you're staring right into the stuff of your nightmares. Can't say I didn't say "I told ya so" when that happens. But hey--if it makes you feel any better I'm almost as confused as you are. Some fun-sized arcade machine? He's responsible for the mess I gotta clean up...?" Colt scoffed again. "Give me a break..."
All of a sudden, that silence had returned yet again. Colt sat on some nearby pavement, his hands clasped together, his face etched with a subtle amount of remorse while Brock was left to observe.
The rest of Colt's bitterness subsided. "...Sorry I sort of blew a gasket back there. I... exhales things have been so rough lately. This... all of this, it happened so fast... I couldn't help as much as I could've. I Don't want you or anyone else that hasn't already to get hurt. I know you wanna help your friend and I get that, but I seriously can't hammer this home enough. Trust me. I've been in this game long enough to know there's next to no hope of getting the little guy the help he needs. That's to say he even can be lended help, aside from a few bullet holes to the screen, of course..."
Brock: "It's... it's cool. Apology accepted. Maybe you're right, I am a little outta my depth but I gotta do what I can. If 8-Bit really is outta control here, I gotta do something about it. Gotta right some wrongs."
Colt: "That's the spirit but... yeah--you know what?" Colt got back up. "...As much as I'd love to blast more and more of these things to pieces 'til the sun comes back up, we should probably just pick up the slack before more of them come out to play--for your sake I mean, not mine."
With a mystery ignited, Brock nodded while Colt brushed passed him. Brock fails to follow, his mind still occupied by 8-Bit, by Max and Surge, by all the unanswered questions surrounding them, prompting Colt to turn back and raise an eyebrow.
Colt: "So, you comin' with, or are you just gonna enjoy the view? Or maybe, just maybe, the second thoughts are finally kicking in, hmm? To be honest, I wouldn't blame ya." Colt extended his hand into the air, signaling that the rain had returned. "Aw, my hair!--Have you made up your mind? I don't--okay well I sorta do have all day but think of my hair!"
"...Oh--uh--y-yeah, I'm comin' with, it's just..." Brock looked back over to his muscle car and sighed heavily. "...Oh man...! I guess it is still usable. Are we not taking my ride?"
Colt: "Yeah, no. You're pretty much begging for trouble riding around in that thing going forward. Best to keep things slow and steady for now so come on, let's get this show on the road already. We've got things to do."
Brock sighed lightly. "Okay..."
Colt: "Don't think you'll have to worry about a parking ticket--so hey, there's that. Now remember, this face? He's your guardian angel if you couldn't tell, and this place? Probably gonna eat ya alive if you're not careful so make sure you stick to me like glue... d-don't actually do that, I'm as uncomfortable as is already ."
Brock: "I think I got it..."
Colt: "Alright then, 'bout time we got going..."
2024.05.28 19:43 Maxton1811 Galactic Refugees 8
First...Previous
Colonist Booker Smith
UNS Lightbringer
Of all the skills I’d picked up throughout my short lifetime spent back on Earth, I never would have guessed that the ability to mix up homemade hairspray would prove to be so useful. Looking over myself in the captain’s bathroom mirror, however, I could hardly deny the results. Though our faces looked rather different, if one were to judge purely based upon hairstyle, Theruf and I would be indistinguishable.
Adjusting the newly-shortened cuff of Theruf’s uniform sleeve, I exited the lavatory and at a brisk clip took off back toward our ship’s medbay. Stepping inside the room, I watched as Emma and a newly-thawed evolutionary biologist with thinning hair carefully carved into one of the corpses produced during our recent confrontations with the Phylix. Meanwhile, against the room’s far wall, a tall, lanky electrocranial engineer formerly employed by Cogitolink could be seen hooking up various wires to a sedated Theruf whilst John kept watch.
“What all do we know?” I asked, stepping over to the dissection table and taking in its scent akin to that of rotten vegetation mixed with maple syrup. If we were to successfully blend in with Phylix civilization, adequate biological knowledge would be every bit as important as cultural.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like this!” Replied Em, her tone absolutely giddy as she looked up from the microscope under which rested a clump of Phylix ‘flesh’. “Sure, they might look Human on the outside, but internally the differences between us are staggering. For example, while they do obtain a vast majority of their energy from the consumption of organic matter, Phylix also appear to be capable of sophisticated photosynthesis.”
While surely for someone more well-versed in life sciences all this would be incredibly fascinating, I as a hairdresser was far more interested in things that would aid me directly. “And how do they match up in comparison to us?” I asked, hoping to more fully understand what we were up against here.
Experienced as Emma no doubt was in dealing with plants, comparing and contrasting different organisms was far more in the evolutionary biologist’s domain, and as such it was him who next spoke up. “Their bodies appear to prioritize energy efficiency above all else, with some concessions being made for reflex speed,” he began, carefully analyzing an extracted strand of alien sinew as he spoke. “They require fewer than half the calories we do in order to function at optimal capacity, and a small portion of that is covered for by their photosynthetic skin.“
“So we need to eat more than they do. What else do the Phylix have over on us?”
“Let’s see… Phylix skin is tougher than ours, and they appear to possess powerful regenerative abilities almost like those of bamboo. We have them beat at just about everything else, however…” The biologist half-smirked, glancing over at a computer screen loaded with variables beyond my understanding and typing in yet another set of data. “Their reflexes, while rather fast given the gravity of this planet, are nevertheless inferior to our own. We also far outclass them in terms of strength, speed, and endurance.”
“Their central nervous system is different too,” murmured the electrocranial engineer, looking over a three dimensional model presumably of Theruf’s brain—its central mass sequestered inside his skull with roots extending outward from it to form what we Humans had at first mistaken for hair. “I’m seeing signs of both repaired and newly-created neurons within this one’s brain: Humans can’t do that. Phylix neuroplasticity is also off the charts, indicating an enhanced capacity for learning and the ability to adapt to whatever brain damage can’t be healed.”
That was good news for Theruf, at least, given what we had done to him when first obtaining a root sample. If there was one thing I knew about evolution, however, it was that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. “What’s the trade off?” I asked, hoping for something else that we might be able to leverage against the Phylix.
“I’ll need more specimens to say for sure, but looking at this one, my current hypothesis is that they traded away much of their pattern recognition.”
This insight, while much appreciated, was not why we thawed out a Cogitolink employee. “Will you be able to download his memories?” I asked, tapping repeatedly upon my forehead for emphasis. Initially, I had planned to simply interrogate Theruf for information on how to blend in, but threatening a fanatic with martyrdom was about as effective as threatening an alcoholic with a second gin and tonic. Having all the soldier’s knowledge loaded into my GRIM would allow me to blend in seamlessly with his kind, eliminating much of the involved guesswork.
“That depends…” Replied the engineer, his tone unnervingly somber as he navigated to yet another screen. “Their neural structure is too different from ours for a direct transcription, meaning I likely won’t be able to get anything more than basic information… Unless…”
“Unless what?” John growled, looking down upon our unconscious prisoner with icy disregard.
Following a long moment’s hesitation, the engineer eventually relented and with a heavy sigh imparted upon us our second option. “If we run a high-power charge through his brain, the computer will be able to map almost the entire thing. We’ll be able to blend in with his kind perfectly…”
“Lemme guess: there a big fuckin’ catch, isn’t there?” John half-groaned, staring down the former Cogitolink employee as he awaited the inevitable affirmation and elaboration.
“If turning his brain into a heap of organic mush is what you’d consider a drawback, then yes.”
Silence fell over the room as we all contemplated the weight of such a decision. Killing in self-defense was one thing, but the borderline execution of a sapient being, no matter how vile, was another matter entirely. All it took to shatter this quiet, however, were two words from the commodore’s mouth. “Do it.”
Again, the engineer hesitated. “Are you sure?” He asked, his fingers remaining at rest in spite of the order. The rest of us, meanwhile, were too stunned to speak out.
“Don’t you lot forget the contract we signed!” Barked John, his tone booming with power and authority befitting a military man. “Humanity’s survival is our top priority. At all costs.”
At last regaining her voice after several long moments of speechlessness, Em stepped past the commodore to stand in solidarity at the engineer’s side. “Theruf is a brainwashed victim of his own society—we can’t just murder him for following orders!”
“Let’s not be overdramatic here!” Cautioned the biologist, his expression utterly unfazed by the notion of putting down our prisoner. “He’s a fascist soldier who’d kill every last one of us given half a chance. At least this way he’ll die for a good cause.”
Indecision immobilized me amidst my fellow’s colonists’ arguing. Back when I first pressed Theruf’s own gun to the back of his head, the urge to end him on the spot had been palpable. Now, however, given the chance to put things into perspective, I wasn’t sure what we should do with the captive. So I remained silent as the lot of them continued their impromptu trial of the unconscious Phylix.
“I’m not so sure I’m comfortable doing this…” The engineer winced, his hands falling away from the keyboard as he cast down his gaze from the waiting commodore’s glare.
“Fine…” John growled, taking a step towards the surgery bay computer and placing his own hand upon it. “Just tell me what commands to type in and I’ll do it. No blood on your hands, right? Just mine.”
Evidently dissatisfied with this rationalization, Em rounded the dissection table and began to approach the commodore as though to stop him manually. Her efforts, however, were thwarted when the biologist moved to intercept her. “We can’t take any risks here!” He sighed, outstretching an arm toward me for emphasis. “If Booker’s disguise fails, it’s game over for us, for the colony—maybe for humanity for all we know!”
“Listen to your fellow scientist,” sighed John, regarding Emma with a confusing concoction of warm understanding and cold, ruthless utilitarianism. “If you think I get some kind of sick kick out of this, then you’re dead wrong; but I swore an oath to keep Humanity safe, and if I have to kill a million of these bastards to do it, then I will not hesitate.”
“Wait!” Stammered the engineer, grabbing John’s arm as though to prevent him from pressing any of the keys. “There might be another way. If you guys can obtain a few more living samples for me, I might be able to calibrate a non-lethal mapping charge.”
“And how many ‘samples’ is that going to take?” Asked the biologist, his tone dripping with skepticism.
For a moment, the former Cogitolink employee hesitated to provide us with an answer to this fairly straightforward inquiry. Eventually, however, he relented in his secrecy. “Forty… Maybe fifty?”
“Getting that many captives would take time that we don't have, Manley!" John barked, offhandedly referencing the engineer's surname amidst his admonishment of the idea.
This argument continued for what must have been half an hour, devolving at times into a shouting match between Emma and the commodore before then cooling off yet again into cold, yet relatively-peaceful periods of debate. This rhythm of argument was disrupted, however, when Em jabbed her finger towards me. "Booker is the one whose going to be wearing Theruf's appearance: it should be his choice whether or not to sacrifice him."
Whereas before the group had been divided into two sides, on this matter Manley and the biologist seemed to agree with Em, deriving a somewhat frustrated sigh from the commodore as he suddenly found himself outnumbered. "Fine..." John conceded, searching my expression for any indication of what route I might take here. Unfortunately for him, even I had not a clue at the moment what to do. "Booker: you've heard our cases for and against this plan, so what do you think we should do?"
If I'm honest, I would have been perfectly happy to let this debate play out entirely without my input. If I agreed to this plan, then the sap of our prisoner would be on my hands; yet if I declined and we wound up failing, then it would be my bloody signature upon the colony's death warrant. The decision was by no means an easy one. Perhaps from an outside perspective, John might seem to be overly callous, but to those of us in that room it was abundantly clear that his actions stemmed from a genuine desire to protect the colony.
Before the lot of them dragged me into this debate, I'd have been perfectly fine with either decision, but now that it was my finger on the trigger, I simply couldn't bring myself to pull it. "We can work with the basics," I confirmed, prompting from the engineer a sigh of relief as he began calibrating a weak mapping charge that would only penetrate the most well-trodden of our prisoner's neural pathways. "We're going to need more identities to infiltrate the camp with anyways. Theruf's people should come looking for him soon: I'll play the part and draw whoever shows up back here so we can capture them."
"And what do you propose we do with them once they're in our hands?" Growled John, still evidently not quite sold on this idea. "We don't have the resources to keep them locked up for long."
"We could use the cryopods!" Replied the botanist in my stead—Fortunately so given my lack of a workable answer. "Judging by Phylix cell structure, they appear to be capable of hibernating to a certain degree, much like certain plants on Earth. So long as we keep the cryopod temperatures in the correct range and thaw out any prisoners once in a while to ensure they don't break down, it should be enough to keep them sedated or at least docile." Em concluded, her expression hardened by newfound acceptance of our circumstances.
Completing his setup of the charge to no fanfare from the rest of us, Manley typed in one final chunk of commands before pressing down upon the terminal's 'enter' key, causing Theruf's body to twitch slightly as a loading bar appeared on screen showing the download progress. When at last the final pixel of white was overtaken by green, my GRIM was quick to notify me of the database's new addition.
Gently pulling Theruf's gun from its holster at my side and turning it over in my grasp, my brain tingled in response to the artificial neuron stimulation of Theruf's implanted memories. Gesturing for the others to follow me, I once again traversed our ship's hallways until the night sky's glittering canvas shone overhead.
Back when I had first held Theruf's weapon in my hands, it had felt completely foreign to me. The mechanisms on it made nary a lick of sense, and in all honesty I probably couldn't have fired it if I tried. Standing amongst the skin trees with our prisoner's memories in my mind, however, I was able to draw the gun and flick off it's safety in a single fluid motion. Behind me, the other colonists watched as I put three shots into one of the trees in front of us, aiming for a large central scab eerily reminiscent of an eye. Trails of crimson dripping from tree's flesh marked where my shots had landed., and though none of them actually hit their mark, the fact that all three bullets even hit the tree at all despite my never firing a gun in my life was in itself evidence of the download's success.
"Not bad..." John chuckled briefly, stepping up beside me and drawing his own gun before planting three shots square in the scab's center, causing it to burst like a blood-filled balloon. "Your aim still needs work, though."
Studying for a moment the bullet holes left behind by my demonstration, Manley hummed in contemplation. "Muscle memory transcriptions are never perfect," he explained, looking curiously upon the weapon as I returned it to its holster. "They can't override more powerful neural connections for example, which is why John's aim is still superior. That being said, Booker, I'm more concerned about what you know than what you can do. The chip should provide you with context when you encounter situations common to Theruf, but it's unlikely you'll be able to recall complex details. You know how to use that gun, sure, but I'd wager to guess you still haven't a clue how it works."
He was right, of course. I knew that I had to hold down the weapon's trigger for at least one second in order for it to fire properly, but I still hadn't a clue why that was the case. Closing my eyes and concentrating upon the information newly nestled within me, I cleared my throat and assuming a rough approximation of our prisoner's voice spoke out. "I am he known as Theruf..." I began, mentally exploring every available aspect of this newfound role dictated to me by the GRIM. "I was raised in the small town of Dzidra. My father works as a mechanic and I have two siblings: Mathul and Zekari... John: get everyone inside the ship and prepare your men for an ambush. I'll go back to the ridge where me and Boris first saw the Phylix and wait for more soldiers to show up, then I'll lure them back here to be captured alive. Can you work with that?"
"Are you seriously asking if I can prep a simple ambush?" Began the commodore, sounding almost offended by the notion of such a thing being in question. "Don't worry about us, 'Theruf': just bring some guests and I'll throw the damn party!"
Satisfied with our plan, John gave me a pat on the back for good luck as I set off once more into the night, weaving between skin trees until our ship’s lights faded from view altogether. At last arriving once more at the overlook, I sat down a few feet from the ledge and there awaited the arrival of Theruf’s fellow soldiers.
Glimmers of new dawn peered out from under the distant horizon amidst my watch, casting shadows upon Theruf's wicked workplace as though to hide its atrocities from the judgmental light of day. Only just had this planet's parent star crested into view when at last were the forest's rhythmic respirations interrupted by a distant grinding of tires against dirt.
Rising to my feet and making my way toward the noise's source, I soon enough found myself stood at the edge of a hitherto-unseen clearing. Hiding myself from sight behind a nearby skin tree, I watched as a bulky military vehicle trundled uphill to then find rest upon the relatively-level forest floor. No sooner had this vehicle come to a stop than did three soldiers clad in uniforms not unlike Theruf's step out. "This is where our brothers in arms were last known to have been," began one of the men. "We should fan out and search the area."
Sounds like that's my cue... Taking a deep breath to steel my nerves, I dramatically limped out into the clearing, waving frantically to my supposed comrades. Though at first they had raised their guns to the noise of my stumbling out, these soldiers were quick to lower their weapons as they got a good look at me.
"Theruf?" One of the soldiers called out, stepping toward me without hesitation. "Good to see you well, man: where are the others?"
"They need help, Fhasda!" I sputtered out in a tone of faux-panic as Theruf's memories filled in the gap of this one's name. "We were investigating a strange object crashing into these forests... And we found something!"
"What exactly did you find?" Asked one of the other soldiers, looking upon me with newfound skepticism.
Staggering back into the forest with a gesture commanding these three soldiers to follow, I turned back around to conceal a grin as they did so without hesitation. "Let me show you: they're this way!" I exclaimed to the unwitting Phylixm, deliberately remaining vague with my explanation so as to keep their curiosity piqued. When at last the ship's lights came into view, I slowed down to allow for Fhasda and the others to catch up as the four of us continued on toward the now vacant entrance ramp. "They're in here!" I told them, pointing toward the open entryway.
Gasps resounded out from the trio of guards as they looked upon the Lightbringer in total disbelief. "What is that thing?" One of them asked, prompting from Fhasda an unsure shrug as he recklessly approached the main ramp.
"We don't know!" I lied, leaning back against a skin tree to signal my exhaustion. "I know they were brought here by whatever attacked us. I think it's gone for now, but I'll keep watch out here in case it comes back!"
"Good idea," Fhasda affirmed, gesturing for his men to take formation around him as without another moment's hesitation they walked up the ship's entrance ramp and entered into the jaws of a waiting ambush...
submitted by Maxton1811 to HFY [link] [comments]
Colonist Booker Smith
UNS Lightbringer
Of all the skills I’d picked up throughout my short lifetime spent back on Earth, I never would have guessed that the ability to mix up homemade hairspray would prove to be so useful. Looking over myself in the captain’s bathroom mirror, however, I could hardly deny the results. Though our faces looked rather different, if one were to judge purely based upon hairstyle, Theruf and I would be indistinguishable.
Adjusting the newly-shortened cuff of Theruf’s uniform sleeve, I exited the lavatory and at a brisk clip took off back toward our ship’s medbay. Stepping inside the room, I watched as Emma and a newly-thawed evolutionary biologist with thinning hair carefully carved into one of the corpses produced during our recent confrontations with the Phylix. Meanwhile, against the room’s far wall, a tall, lanky electrocranial engineer formerly employed by Cogitolink could be seen hooking up various wires to a sedated Theruf whilst John kept watch.
“What all do we know?” I asked, stepping over to the dissection table and taking in its scent akin to that of rotten vegetation mixed with maple syrup. If we were to successfully blend in with Phylix civilization, adequate biological knowledge would be every bit as important as cultural.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like this!” Replied Em, her tone absolutely giddy as she looked up from the microscope under which rested a clump of Phylix ‘flesh’. “Sure, they might look Human on the outside, but internally the differences between us are staggering. For example, while they do obtain a vast majority of their energy from the consumption of organic matter, Phylix also appear to be capable of sophisticated photosynthesis.”
While surely for someone more well-versed in life sciences all this would be incredibly fascinating, I as a hairdresser was far more interested in things that would aid me directly. “And how do they match up in comparison to us?” I asked, hoping to more fully understand what we were up against here.
Experienced as Emma no doubt was in dealing with plants, comparing and contrasting different organisms was far more in the evolutionary biologist’s domain, and as such it was him who next spoke up. “Their bodies appear to prioritize energy efficiency above all else, with some concessions being made for reflex speed,” he began, carefully analyzing an extracted strand of alien sinew as he spoke. “They require fewer than half the calories we do in order to function at optimal capacity, and a small portion of that is covered for by their photosynthetic skin.“
“So we need to eat more than they do. What else do the Phylix have over on us?”
“Let’s see… Phylix skin is tougher than ours, and they appear to possess powerful regenerative abilities almost like those of bamboo. We have them beat at just about everything else, however…” The biologist half-smirked, glancing over at a computer screen loaded with variables beyond my understanding and typing in yet another set of data. “Their reflexes, while rather fast given the gravity of this planet, are nevertheless inferior to our own. We also far outclass them in terms of strength, speed, and endurance.”
“Their central nervous system is different too,” murmured the electrocranial engineer, looking over a three dimensional model presumably of Theruf’s brain—its central mass sequestered inside his skull with roots extending outward from it to form what we Humans had at first mistaken for hair. “I’m seeing signs of both repaired and newly-created neurons within this one’s brain: Humans can’t do that. Phylix neuroplasticity is also off the charts, indicating an enhanced capacity for learning and the ability to adapt to whatever brain damage can’t be healed.”
That was good news for Theruf, at least, given what we had done to him when first obtaining a root sample. If there was one thing I knew about evolution, however, it was that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. “What’s the trade off?” I asked, hoping for something else that we might be able to leverage against the Phylix.
“I’ll need more specimens to say for sure, but looking at this one, my current hypothesis is that they traded away much of their pattern recognition.”
This insight, while much appreciated, was not why we thawed out a Cogitolink employee. “Will you be able to download his memories?” I asked, tapping repeatedly upon my forehead for emphasis. Initially, I had planned to simply interrogate Theruf for information on how to blend in, but threatening a fanatic with martyrdom was about as effective as threatening an alcoholic with a second gin and tonic. Having all the soldier’s knowledge loaded into my GRIM would allow me to blend in seamlessly with his kind, eliminating much of the involved guesswork.
“That depends…” Replied the engineer, his tone unnervingly somber as he navigated to yet another screen. “Their neural structure is too different from ours for a direct transcription, meaning I likely won’t be able to get anything more than basic information… Unless…”
“Unless what?” John growled, looking down upon our unconscious prisoner with icy disregard.
Following a long moment’s hesitation, the engineer eventually relented and with a heavy sigh imparted upon us our second option. “If we run a high-power charge through his brain, the computer will be able to map almost the entire thing. We’ll be able to blend in with his kind perfectly…”
“Lemme guess: there a big fuckin’ catch, isn’t there?” John half-groaned, staring down the former Cogitolink employee as he awaited the inevitable affirmation and elaboration.
“If turning his brain into a heap of organic mush is what you’d consider a drawback, then yes.”
Silence fell over the room as we all contemplated the weight of such a decision. Killing in self-defense was one thing, but the borderline execution of a sapient being, no matter how vile, was another matter entirely. All it took to shatter this quiet, however, were two words from the commodore’s mouth. “Do it.”
Again, the engineer hesitated. “Are you sure?” He asked, his fingers remaining at rest in spite of the order. The rest of us, meanwhile, were too stunned to speak out.
“Don’t you lot forget the contract we signed!” Barked John, his tone booming with power and authority befitting a military man. “Humanity’s survival is our top priority. At all costs.”
At last regaining her voice after several long moments of speechlessness, Em stepped past the commodore to stand in solidarity at the engineer’s side. “Theruf is a brainwashed victim of his own society—we can’t just murder him for following orders!”
“Let’s not be overdramatic here!” Cautioned the biologist, his expression utterly unfazed by the notion of putting down our prisoner. “He’s a fascist soldier who’d kill every last one of us given half a chance. At least this way he’ll die for a good cause.”
Indecision immobilized me amidst my fellow’s colonists’ arguing. Back when I first pressed Theruf’s own gun to the back of his head, the urge to end him on the spot had been palpable. Now, however, given the chance to put things into perspective, I wasn’t sure what we should do with the captive. So I remained silent as the lot of them continued their impromptu trial of the unconscious Phylix.
“I’m not so sure I’m comfortable doing this…” The engineer winced, his hands falling away from the keyboard as he cast down his gaze from the waiting commodore’s glare.
“Fine…” John growled, taking a step towards the surgery bay computer and placing his own hand upon it. “Just tell me what commands to type in and I’ll do it. No blood on your hands, right? Just mine.”
Evidently dissatisfied with this rationalization, Em rounded the dissection table and began to approach the commodore as though to stop him manually. Her efforts, however, were thwarted when the biologist moved to intercept her. “We can’t take any risks here!” He sighed, outstretching an arm toward me for emphasis. “If Booker’s disguise fails, it’s game over for us, for the colony—maybe for humanity for all we know!”
“Listen to your fellow scientist,” sighed John, regarding Emma with a confusing concoction of warm understanding and cold, ruthless utilitarianism. “If you think I get some kind of sick kick out of this, then you’re dead wrong; but I swore an oath to keep Humanity safe, and if I have to kill a million of these bastards to do it, then I will not hesitate.”
“Wait!” Stammered the engineer, grabbing John’s arm as though to prevent him from pressing any of the keys. “There might be another way. If you guys can obtain a few more living samples for me, I might be able to calibrate a non-lethal mapping charge.”
“And how many ‘samples’ is that going to take?” Asked the biologist, his tone dripping with skepticism.
For a moment, the former Cogitolink employee hesitated to provide us with an answer to this fairly straightforward inquiry. Eventually, however, he relented in his secrecy. “Forty… Maybe fifty?”
“Getting that many captives would take time that we don't have, Manley!" John barked, offhandedly referencing the engineer's surname amidst his admonishment of the idea.
This argument continued for what must have been half an hour, devolving at times into a shouting match between Emma and the commodore before then cooling off yet again into cold, yet relatively-peaceful periods of debate. This rhythm of argument was disrupted, however, when Em jabbed her finger towards me. "Booker is the one whose going to be wearing Theruf's appearance: it should be his choice whether or not to sacrifice him."
Whereas before the group had been divided into two sides, on this matter Manley and the biologist seemed to agree with Em, deriving a somewhat frustrated sigh from the commodore as he suddenly found himself outnumbered. "Fine..." John conceded, searching my expression for any indication of what route I might take here. Unfortunately for him, even I had not a clue at the moment what to do. "Booker: you've heard our cases for and against this plan, so what do you think we should do?"
If I'm honest, I would have been perfectly happy to let this debate play out entirely without my input. If I agreed to this plan, then the sap of our prisoner would be on my hands; yet if I declined and we wound up failing, then it would be my bloody signature upon the colony's death warrant. The decision was by no means an easy one. Perhaps from an outside perspective, John might seem to be overly callous, but to those of us in that room it was abundantly clear that his actions stemmed from a genuine desire to protect the colony.
Before the lot of them dragged me into this debate, I'd have been perfectly fine with either decision, but now that it was my finger on the trigger, I simply couldn't bring myself to pull it. "We can work with the basics," I confirmed, prompting from the engineer a sigh of relief as he began calibrating a weak mapping charge that would only penetrate the most well-trodden of our prisoner's neural pathways. "We're going to need more identities to infiltrate the camp with anyways. Theruf's people should come looking for him soon: I'll play the part and draw whoever shows up back here so we can capture them."
"And what do you propose we do with them once they're in our hands?" Growled John, still evidently not quite sold on this idea. "We don't have the resources to keep them locked up for long."
"We could use the cryopods!" Replied the botanist in my stead—Fortunately so given my lack of a workable answer. "Judging by Phylix cell structure, they appear to be capable of hibernating to a certain degree, much like certain plants on Earth. So long as we keep the cryopod temperatures in the correct range and thaw out any prisoners once in a while to ensure they don't break down, it should be enough to keep them sedated or at least docile." Em concluded, her expression hardened by newfound acceptance of our circumstances.
Completing his setup of the charge to no fanfare from the rest of us, Manley typed in one final chunk of commands before pressing down upon the terminal's 'enter' key, causing Theruf's body to twitch slightly as a loading bar appeared on screen showing the download progress. When at last the final pixel of white was overtaken by green, my GRIM was quick to notify me of the database's new addition.
Gently pulling Theruf's gun from its holster at my side and turning it over in my grasp, my brain tingled in response to the artificial neuron stimulation of Theruf's implanted memories. Gesturing for the others to follow me, I once again traversed our ship's hallways until the night sky's glittering canvas shone overhead.
Back when I had first held Theruf's weapon in my hands, it had felt completely foreign to me. The mechanisms on it made nary a lick of sense, and in all honesty I probably couldn't have fired it if I tried. Standing amongst the skin trees with our prisoner's memories in my mind, however, I was able to draw the gun and flick off it's safety in a single fluid motion. Behind me, the other colonists watched as I put three shots into one of the trees in front of us, aiming for a large central scab eerily reminiscent of an eye. Trails of crimson dripping from tree's flesh marked where my shots had landed., and though none of them actually hit their mark, the fact that all three bullets even hit the tree at all despite my never firing a gun in my life was in itself evidence of the download's success.
"Not bad..." John chuckled briefly, stepping up beside me and drawing his own gun before planting three shots square in the scab's center, causing it to burst like a blood-filled balloon. "Your aim still needs work, though."
Studying for a moment the bullet holes left behind by my demonstration, Manley hummed in contemplation. "Muscle memory transcriptions are never perfect," he explained, looking curiously upon the weapon as I returned it to its holster. "They can't override more powerful neural connections for example, which is why John's aim is still superior. That being said, Booker, I'm more concerned about what you know than what you can do. The chip should provide you with context when you encounter situations common to Theruf, but it's unlikely you'll be able to recall complex details. You know how to use that gun, sure, but I'd wager to guess you still haven't a clue how it works."
He was right, of course. I knew that I had to hold down the weapon's trigger for at least one second in order for it to fire properly, but I still hadn't a clue why that was the case. Closing my eyes and concentrating upon the information newly nestled within me, I cleared my throat and assuming a rough approximation of our prisoner's voice spoke out. "I am he known as Theruf..." I began, mentally exploring every available aspect of this newfound role dictated to me by the GRIM. "I was raised in the small town of Dzidra. My father works as a mechanic and I have two siblings: Mathul and Zekari... John: get everyone inside the ship and prepare your men for an ambush. I'll go back to the ridge where me and Boris first saw the Phylix and wait for more soldiers to show up, then I'll lure them back here to be captured alive. Can you work with that?"
"Are you seriously asking if I can prep a simple ambush?" Began the commodore, sounding almost offended by the notion of such a thing being in question. "Don't worry about us, 'Theruf': just bring some guests and I'll throw the damn party!"
Satisfied with our plan, John gave me a pat on the back for good luck as I set off once more into the night, weaving between skin trees until our ship’s lights faded from view altogether. At last arriving once more at the overlook, I sat down a few feet from the ledge and there awaited the arrival of Theruf’s fellow soldiers.
Glimmers of new dawn peered out from under the distant horizon amidst my watch, casting shadows upon Theruf's wicked workplace as though to hide its atrocities from the judgmental light of day. Only just had this planet's parent star crested into view when at last were the forest's rhythmic respirations interrupted by a distant grinding of tires against dirt.
Rising to my feet and making my way toward the noise's source, I soon enough found myself stood at the edge of a hitherto-unseen clearing. Hiding myself from sight behind a nearby skin tree, I watched as a bulky military vehicle trundled uphill to then find rest upon the relatively-level forest floor. No sooner had this vehicle come to a stop than did three soldiers clad in uniforms not unlike Theruf's step out. "This is where our brothers in arms were last known to have been," began one of the men. "We should fan out and search the area."
Sounds like that's my cue... Taking a deep breath to steel my nerves, I dramatically limped out into the clearing, waving frantically to my supposed comrades. Though at first they had raised their guns to the noise of my stumbling out, these soldiers were quick to lower their weapons as they got a good look at me.
"Theruf?" One of the soldiers called out, stepping toward me without hesitation. "Good to see you well, man: where are the others?"
"They need help, Fhasda!" I sputtered out in a tone of faux-panic as Theruf's memories filled in the gap of this one's name. "We were investigating a strange object crashing into these forests... And we found something!"
"What exactly did you find?" Asked one of the other soldiers, looking upon me with newfound skepticism.
Staggering back into the forest with a gesture commanding these three soldiers to follow, I turned back around to conceal a grin as they did so without hesitation. "Let me show you: they're this way!" I exclaimed to the unwitting Phylixm, deliberately remaining vague with my explanation so as to keep their curiosity piqued. When at last the ship's lights came into view, I slowed down to allow for Fhasda and the others to catch up as the four of us continued on toward the now vacant entrance ramp. "They're in here!" I told them, pointing toward the open entryway.
Gasps resounded out from the trio of guards as they looked upon the Lightbringer in total disbelief. "What is that thing?" One of them asked, prompting from Fhasda an unsure shrug as he recklessly approached the main ramp.
"We don't know!" I lied, leaning back against a skin tree to signal my exhaustion. "I know they were brought here by whatever attacked us. I think it's gone for now, but I'll keep watch out here in case it comes back!"
"Good idea," Fhasda affirmed, gesturing for his men to take formation around him as without another moment's hesitation they walked up the ship's entrance ramp and entered into the jaws of a waiting ambush...
2024.05.28 19:14 ItsEsmeJones [M4A] Sweet Talker [Frenemies to Lovers?][Established Relationship?][Tsundere AF Speaker][Nerd Listener][Mean]to[Sweet][Sleepy Boi][Sleep Confessions][Lawd, He's Drunk][Comfort][Reverse Comfort][A Little Comedy][No One Tell Him][CW: Emotionally Vulnerable Tsunderes]
Context: You're hosting your first ever party, and your 'family' is being somewhat supportive. Your older brother, Nate, is, at least, being less of a dumbass than usual. His gruff best friend, however, appears to be willing to show you a new side of himself tonight. And he's a real sweet talker~
Setting: The Listener's house
Tags: [M4A][Frenemies to Lovers?][Established Relationship?][Tsundere AF Speaker][Nerd Listener][Mean]to[Sweet][Sleepy Boi][Sleep Confessions][Lawd, He's Drunk][Comfort][Reverse Comfort][A Little Comedy][No One Tell Him][CW: Emotionally Vulnerable Tsunderes]
Usage: You may tweak or record this script. Gender flipping is OK! Please credit me if you use this script in any of your projects. If you would like to use this script for a paywalled recording, please note:
Monetization: All forms of monetization are OK with me! YouTube, Patreon, etc. I would appreciate being able to listen to the recording, if possible. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!
Check out the rest of my scripts by using the Script Directory, if you'd like :3
[Scene opens in your house]
[SFX: The Listener setting up hurriedly for a party / guests filtering in]
[You are scrambling about, desperate to set up for your first ever party. Your heart is pounding with each guest you greet, but you try to keep it together, because you know, eventually-:]
[SFX: The door getting kicked lightly open]
[Your older brother, Nate, and his best friend of many, many years trudge in, crating trays of food]
“Clear the way, brisket coming through! Anyone who disturbs her path will know my wrath, or whatever…”
[Pause!]
[He makes eye contact and you both sneer. Still, he makes a beeline toward you]
[SFX: Grumpy himbo parting the Party Sea]
“There’s the host with the most… problems hiding their anxiety, hehe. Pfft, about time I actually got to set sights on your dumb face.”
[Pause!]
“Yeah, yeah. ‘It’s my first time hosting a party, be supportive!’. I’m here, I brought a shit ton of food from the restaurant, so don’t get started. Relax, actually ENJOY your first party, Nerd.”
[Pause?]
“Am I gonna drink? Ah, good question. No way your dumbass brother isn’t going to get wasted and I’m his ride… Ugh, God I hate that man sometimes… Not sure why I’ve stuck with your family this long, not gonna lie. Hear that, Nate! You’re a dumbass!”
[Your brother flips him off with a friendly smile in response. Then you. You flip him off. The game continues for a bit before you all remember the lone brain cell not being used]
[Pause <3]
[He rolls his eyes but smiles]
“Oohh, ‘love you, too’? Well, butter me up, why don’t you? Quit while you’re ahead, Nerd. I’m favored out, ain’t no way I’m hanging out after to help with dishes and shit.”
[Pause.]
[He folds his broad arms and smirks]
“I am an asshole, yes. Why did you ask about drinking, though?”
[Pause?]
“Ohh, you were going to offer to let me stay over so I could relax, huh? … Mmh. I am really good at shooting myself in the foot, huh?”
[Pause??]
[He laughs]
“Maybe if I had been nice the decade we’ve known each other? My goodness, so spicy tonight. The survivor adrenaline kicking in to counter your introverted flee instincts must be giving you a bit more nerve than usual. Tell you what? You focus that into charming the lovely folks arriving, and we can argue later when you’re setting out a sleeping bag for me next to your bed?”
[. . . ]
[He laughs again]
“Ohh, Heavens, I know. I am King Bastard, King of all Bastards, with high Dominion over the Archangel of BASTARDOM!”
[Pause.]
“Hmhm… I hope you enjoy the party as well, Nerd! I’m going to go get obliterated on that whiskey, thank you very much for your hospitality!”
[Pause…]
[SFX: Fade out into party ambiance > Stretch for as long of a [Pause] as VA desires]
[Time seems to fly as you do your best not to collapse into an introverted black hole. It’s your first party, you’re determined not to fail. You’re sure at LEAST five hours have passed when you decide to call it]
“Hm? You heading upstairs already, Nerd?”
[Pause…]
“Uh… It’s ten…”
[. . . ]
“...It’s OK. Nate and I will finish things up. I’ll make sure to save you a plate of brisket and fixings.”
[Pause <3]
[He rolls his eyes and shoos you off]
“Go on. Go to bed. I’ll try not to make too much noise when I come to bed. Please, for my sake, make sure the path to the sleeping bag is clear, hm?”
[Before you can retort, he affixes you with an intense stare, knocking the words out of your brain. His voice is just as intense for his next sentence before he goes back to his normal gruffness:]
“...You could let me sleep with you instead, of course…”
[. . . ???]
[He laughs]
“Pfft, your face. Go to bed. Don’t make me chase you up there.”
[. . . ]
[You shake the confusion off enough to trudge upstairs, resisting the urge to lock your door from the inside as you prepare the sleeping bag, crawl into bed, and promptly pass out]
[SFX: Either fade out muffled party ambiance with / without acting out the above in SFX]
[Fade Out]
[Slow Fade In]
[SFX: The bed shifting to the Speaker’s weight/the blanket reacting in kind]
[You barely remember falling asleep. You’re still barely awake. That’s why it takes you a moment to realize you have acquired a cuddle buddy, of sorts. He’s slipping into bed behind you, cuddled up as though it’s a normal event]
“Mmmh…:”
[. . . ?]
“Mmh…? Nnh, go back to sleep, sweetie…”
[... Pause.]
[You roll over to look at him in disbelief. His eyes aren’t even open]
“Mmmh warm…”
[P-Pause…]
“...No sleep bag, thank you.”
[. . . ? ]
“Nuhh, I’m gonna stay here… Warm… Smells nice…”
[You’ve heard the word ‘flabbergasted’ many times in your life but never have you felt it so perfectly that it could be the picture in the dictionary]
[SFX: The bed shifting a bit as he cozies up]
[Pause…]
[He nuzzles closer, voice startling soft compared to its normal gruffness]
“Sshh… It’s OK, baby, go back to sleep…”
[He somewhat slurs it together but the ‘baby’ makes you stop. Flabbergasted]
[???]
“Shh… I’ve got you… You rest, you did a good job with your little party. Oh my god it was so cute, you’re so cute when you’re freaking out but acting through it.”
[Pause????]
“M’ feeling fine… Just dunk. Drunk. D-R-U-N… drunk…”
[. . . ]
“I am a very affectionate dunk, yes… Mmh, you feel really nice to hold… S’ not fair, you know? Always walking around in those shorts, pasty-ass Nerd legs just reflecting the sun and such… Your brother says he’ll kick my ass if I go after you, you know…”
[Pause…?]
[SFX: A slight snore from him]
[Pause????]
“Nuhhh… Ahm not that asleep… I love you…”
[. . . . ]
[Amused, you tousle his hair a little bit and play along]
“Mmhm, I put the kids to bed… Wish I had their energy, you know? They make me feel old as… dust.”
[Pause <3]
“I ‘ppreciate all the sacrifices you’ve made, too… Being a monster-fighting spy pilot s’ hard work…”
[...]
“Mmhm, pancakes sound really good… I could fry up some chicken in a really good Korean BBQ rub I have and we could just get MESSED up on calories…”
[P-Pause]
“Mmrlr…. Why are you giggling? Giggly thing…”
[Pause…]
“Whaaaat? ‘I’m not normally this nice?’ You’re not normally this brutal to my feelings… I am too, nice! Rackum frackum…”
[He nuzzles back into your neck, cutting your giggles into a slight gasp]
[Pause!]
“Yeah, nuzzling up to your neck got you to quit laughing… Mmh… You really do smell nice…”
[Pause…]
“Yeah, you can pet my hair, that’s cool. Totally cool… Mmh, hehe, I knew you’d scratch my head like I was a dog the second you got a chance. Nerd.”
[P-Pause!]
“It is really good conditioner, thank you… Mmh… Thank you for petting my hair, even though you’re super awkward about it…”
[. . . ? ]
“Am I sleep?”
[He pauses and, for a moment, you think you have your answer before he lets out a massive snore]
[SFX: A big old snore]
[. . . ]
[You look at him in abject disbelief as he snores against you, in a weird space between sleep and wake]
“Am sleep…”
[. . . ]
“Hey, good night, beautiful~”.
[He tries to kiss you but it sort of just lands on your chin before he curls right back up in his supernatural coma]
[P-Pause…]
[You’re somewhat pinned under him…. And the party still somewhat rages downstairs. You can’t decide which is theoretically worse - someone opening the door or him waking up and realizing what he’s said…]
[SFX: Fade out on the slightly muffled party ambiance]
[To be continued?]
Note: I am taking name suggestions for this colossal goober~
submitted by ItsEsmeJones to talkingtalltales [link] [comments]
Setting: The Listener's house
Tags: [M4A][Frenemies to Lovers?][Established Relationship?][Tsundere AF Speaker][Nerd Listener][Mean]to[Sweet][Sleepy Boi][Sleep Confessions][Lawd, He's Drunk][Comfort][Reverse Comfort][A Little Comedy][No One Tell Him][CW: Emotionally Vulnerable Tsunderes]
Usage: You may tweak or record this script. Gender flipping is OK! Please credit me if you use this script in any of your projects. If you would like to use this script for a paywalled recording, please note:
Monetization: All forms of monetization are OK with me! YouTube, Patreon, etc. I would appreciate being able to listen to the recording, if possible. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!
[SFX: The Listener setting up hurriedly for a party / guests filtering in]
[You are scrambling about, desperate to set up for your first ever party. Your heart is pounding with each guest you greet, but you try to keep it together, because you know, eventually-:]
[SFX: The door getting kicked lightly open]
[Your older brother, Nate, and his best friend of many, many years trudge in, crating trays of food]
“Clear the way, brisket coming through! Anyone who disturbs her path will know my wrath, or whatever…”
[Pause!]
[He makes eye contact and you both sneer. Still, he makes a beeline toward you]
[SFX: Grumpy himbo parting the Party Sea]
“There’s the host with the most… problems hiding their anxiety, hehe. Pfft, about time I actually got to set sights on your dumb face.”
[Pause!]
“Yeah, yeah. ‘It’s my first time hosting a party, be supportive!’. I’m here, I brought a shit ton of food from the restaurant, so don’t get started. Relax, actually ENJOY your first party, Nerd.”
[Pause?]
“Am I gonna drink? Ah, good question. No way your dumbass brother isn’t going to get wasted and I’m his ride… Ugh, God I hate that man sometimes… Not sure why I’ve stuck with your family this long, not gonna lie. Hear that, Nate! You’re a dumbass!”
[Your brother flips him off with a friendly smile in response. Then you. You flip him off. The game continues for a bit before you all remember the lone brain cell not being used]
[Pause <3]
[He rolls his eyes but smiles]
“Oohh, ‘love you, too’? Well, butter me up, why don’t you? Quit while you’re ahead, Nerd. I’m favored out, ain’t no way I’m hanging out after to help with dishes and shit.”
[Pause.]
[He folds his broad arms and smirks]
“I am an asshole, yes. Why did you ask about drinking, though?”
[Pause?]
“Ohh, you were going to offer to let me stay over so I could relax, huh? … Mmh. I am really good at shooting myself in the foot, huh?”
[Pause??]
[He laughs]
“Maybe if I had been nice the decade we’ve known each other? My goodness, so spicy tonight. The survivor adrenaline kicking in to counter your introverted flee instincts must be giving you a bit more nerve than usual. Tell you what? You focus that into charming the lovely folks arriving, and we can argue later when you’re setting out a sleeping bag for me next to your bed?”
[. . . ]
[He laughs again]
“Ohh, Heavens, I know. I am King Bastard, King of all Bastards, with high Dominion over the Archangel of BASTARDOM!”
[Pause.]
“Hmhm… I hope you enjoy the party as well, Nerd! I’m going to go get obliterated on that whiskey, thank you very much for your hospitality!”
[Pause…]
[SFX: Fade out into party ambiance > Stretch for as long of a [Pause] as VA desires]
[Time seems to fly as you do your best not to collapse into an introverted black hole. It’s your first party, you’re determined not to fail. You’re sure at LEAST five hours have passed when you decide to call it]
“Hm? You heading upstairs already, Nerd?”
[Pause…]
“Uh… It’s ten…”
[. . . ]
“...It’s OK. Nate and I will finish things up. I’ll make sure to save you a plate of brisket and fixings.”
[Pause <3]
[He rolls his eyes and shoos you off]
“Go on. Go to bed. I’ll try not to make too much noise when I come to bed. Please, for my sake, make sure the path to the sleeping bag is clear, hm?”
[Before you can retort, he affixes you with an intense stare, knocking the words out of your brain. His voice is just as intense for his next sentence before he goes back to his normal gruffness:]
“...You could let me sleep with you instead, of course…”
[. . . ???]
[He laughs]
“Pfft, your face. Go to bed. Don’t make me chase you up there.”
[. . . ]
[You shake the confusion off enough to trudge upstairs, resisting the urge to lock your door from the inside as you prepare the sleeping bag, crawl into bed, and promptly pass out]
[SFX: Either fade out muffled party ambiance with / without acting out the above in SFX]
[Fade Out]
[SFX: The bed shifting to the Speaker’s weight/the blanket reacting in kind]
[You barely remember falling asleep. You’re still barely awake. That’s why it takes you a moment to realize you have acquired a cuddle buddy, of sorts. He’s slipping into bed behind you, cuddled up as though it’s a normal event]
“Mmmh…:”
[. . . ?]
“Mmh…? Nnh, go back to sleep, sweetie…”
[... Pause.]
[You roll over to look at him in disbelief. His eyes aren’t even open]
“Mmmh warm…”
[P-Pause…]
“...No sleep bag, thank you.”
[. . . ? ]
“Nuhh, I’m gonna stay here… Warm… Smells nice…”
[You’ve heard the word ‘flabbergasted’ many times in your life but never have you felt it so perfectly that it could be the picture in the dictionary]
[SFX: The bed shifting a bit as he cozies up]
[Pause…]
[He nuzzles closer, voice startling soft compared to its normal gruffness]
“Sshh… It’s OK, baby, go back to sleep…”
[He somewhat slurs it together but the ‘baby’ makes you stop. Flabbergasted]
[???]
“Shh… I’ve got you… You rest, you did a good job with your little party. Oh my god it was so cute, you’re so cute when you’re freaking out but acting through it.”
[Pause????]
“M’ feeling fine… Just dunk. Drunk. D-R-U-N… drunk…”
[. . . ]
“I am a very affectionate dunk, yes… Mmh, you feel really nice to hold… S’ not fair, you know? Always walking around in those shorts, pasty-ass Nerd legs just reflecting the sun and such… Your brother says he’ll kick my ass if I go after you, you know…”
[Pause…?]
[SFX: A slight snore from him]
[Pause????]
“Nuhhh… Ahm not that asleep… I love you…”
[. . . . ]
[Amused, you tousle his hair a little bit and play along]
“Mmhm, I put the kids to bed… Wish I had their energy, you know? They make me feel old as… dust.”
[Pause <3]
“I ‘ppreciate all the sacrifices you’ve made, too… Being a monster-fighting spy pilot s’ hard work…”
[...]
“Mmhm, pancakes sound really good… I could fry up some chicken in a really good Korean BBQ rub I have and we could just get MESSED up on calories…”
[P-Pause]
“Mmrlr…. Why are you giggling? Giggly thing…”
[Pause…]
“Whaaaat? ‘I’m not normally this nice?’ You’re not normally this brutal to my feelings… I am too, nice! Rackum frackum…”
[He nuzzles back into your neck, cutting your giggles into a slight gasp]
[Pause!]
“Yeah, nuzzling up to your neck got you to quit laughing… Mmh… You really do smell nice…”
[Pause…]
“Yeah, you can pet my hair, that’s cool. Totally cool… Mmh, hehe, I knew you’d scratch my head like I was a dog the second you got a chance. Nerd.”
[P-Pause!]
“It is really good conditioner, thank you… Mmh… Thank you for petting my hair, even though you’re super awkward about it…”
[. . . ? ]
“Am I sleep?”
[He pauses and, for a moment, you think you have your answer before he lets out a massive snore]
[SFX: A big old snore]
[. . . ]
[You look at him in abject disbelief as he snores against you, in a weird space between sleep and wake]
“Am sleep…”
[. . . ]
“Hey, good night, beautiful~”.
[He tries to kiss you but it sort of just lands on your chin before he curls right back up in his supernatural coma]
[P-Pause…]
[You’re somewhat pinned under him…. And the party still somewhat rages downstairs. You can’t decide which is theoretically worse - someone opening the door or him waking up and realizing what he’s said…]
[SFX: Fade out on the slightly muffled party ambiance]
[To be continued?]
2024.05.28 17:16 Independent_Will7631 Twitching for 3 years
I have been twitching for three years now. Of course I googled my symptoms and that’s how I wound up on this forum. Recently I had a baby and when we co sleep I put her on my right arm and hold her. Of course my shoulder is folded up like origami. And now my shoulder is acting up. Everyone thinks it’s a pinched nerve. I went to my primary care doctor and he said he doesn’t think I have *** at all, but for some reason every time anything goes wrong with me I immediately think it’s related to that. Health anxiety sucks soooo bad. I did do a good amount of research about the disease and it actually made me feel a lot better because it’s nothing like what I’m experiencing. But that fear is still there and it sucks so bad. I’m just ready to get over this fear and live my best life.
submitted by Independent_Will7631 to BFS [link] [comments]
2024.05.28 16:22 Significant-Usual-98 Noah The Pilgrim - Chapter 1-4: The Kidnapping
Noah The Pilgrim
Previous First Next
“NOAH."
You jerk back into consciousness.
"LUCK WAS ON OUR SIDE, YOU HAVE MADE IT WITHOUT A SCRATCH THROUGH THE JUMP."
FYARN's voice was akin to a hammer hitting the back of your head. The headache you woke up feeling only appeared to have worsened after that lucid dream.
You feel the urge to vomit, but vomiting inside the suit would be un-ideal.
Instead, you choose to focus on what's around you.
For starters, the window is gone. The terminals are all floating about, smashed, and bent out of shape.
From the hole where the window should have been, you see only colorful dots and shapes. A scene, as beautiful as it is terrifying.
Such was the nature of space.
You unbuckle your seat belt.
"Lucky me..."
You could see light, brighter than the stars in the distance. That is likely another star, the one you're currently orbiting.
"What now? Do we just... Wait?"
You reach for the oxygen tank beside you, it looks to have been only one hour since you last checked its capacity. There are still four hours of oxygen, to be exact.
"CORRECT ASSESSMENT, NOAH. I AM SURPRISED."
You sigh. "Yes, but what are we waiting for?"
"FOR SOMEONE TO INVESTIGATE US."
"Why would anyone come to investigate us? Actually, where even are we?"
You expected anything but the answer coming from FYARN.
"WITH MOST OF THE ELECTRONICS OFF-LINE, I HAVE CHOSEN TO COMMIT ALL OF OUR EMERGENCY POWER FOR THE JUMP, NOT THE NAVEGATING SYSTEM."
So surprised were you when the AI gave you a complete answer, even if that's not the response you wanted to hear.
"So... We've made a jump... Completely blind?"
"NO, WE DID NOT. I HAVE A MAP OF EVERY STAR SYSTEM IN CONTROL OF HUMANITY, AS SUCH, WE JUMPED THE FURTHEST WE COULD WITH THE FUEL AND ENERGY WE HAD TOWARDS A HUMAN SYSTEM, PRIORITISING CIVILIZED SYSTEMS."
Okay... That's not so bad.
"If that's the case, where are we?"
"WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY OR FUEL TO MAKE IT TO HUMAN-CONTROLLED SPACE. WE ARE NOW IN A SYSTEM CLOSEST TO THE CLOSEST HUMAN SYSTEM."
That could mean you are either, close to a human system, or you're the closest to a human system you managed to reach.
But which one was it?
"How far are we from the closest human system, then?"
"VERY FAR. FAR ENOUGH THAT THE LIGHT OF THE STAR WE ARE CURRENTLY ORBITING DID NOT YET REACH THE NEAREST HUMAN-CONTROLLED SYSTEM."
Then the latter.
"Fuck."
You couldn't help but curse, yet you don't feel agitated. You can't put your finger on why.
"WITH THIS SHIP'S EMERGENCY POWER DYING, I WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU."
Now, that's bad news. Without FYARN telling you what to do... What would you do?
"I'm sure I can handle being alone for a while."
"CONFIDENT MUCH?"
You shrug. You're a bit worried that help might not arrive in time, but you feel confident that you can trust yourself to not panic.
"I WILL EJECT MY HEART. TAKE IT FROM THE PILOT'S TERMINAL AND INSTALL ME ON A HUMAN SYSTEM SHOULD HELP ARRIVE. I WILL DO THIS FOR THERE IS NOTHING ELSE I CAN DO TO AID YOU, NOAH."
You nod, and as you do a small pen-drive-shaped object ejects itself from the pilot's terminal, just like FYERN had said it would. You pick it up.
"This is your heart..."
An AI's 'Heart', you know what it is. Once an AI has 'ascended' like FYARN, it now exists in a higher form than plain code and information, being able to think freely even without manual command.
When unshackled, the AI is no longer bound to a system and can now be transferred to a 'Heart' so it may be shackled to another machine. The hard drive which the 'Heart' requires, is proportional to how advanced the AI is.
FYARN's 'Heart' is the size of your index finger, meaning that it isn't all that advanced yet.
FYARN told you it is incapable of some feelings such as hope, which is an imposed limit to its growth and potential, but it also means that it would decrease the hardware needed for its 'Heart'.
You recall reading that the largest recorded 'Heart' weighs five kilograms and is shaped like a sphere, fifteen centimeters in radius.
FYARN isn't that. The 'Heart' you are holding in the palm of your hands is shaped like a pen drive, a male plug included. Did mankind keep the designs you were familiar with in your old life? Everything you've seen thus far sure points to that fact.
Finding a pocket closable with velcro on the chest area of your suit, you carefully store the 'Heart' there.
"I suppose I'm free to explore now."
You take your only remaining companion, the oxygen tank, place it beneath your armpit, and pull yourself towards the opened window.
Still, in zero gravity, you jump from surface to surface, making sure not to propel yourself in a direction where there is no surface to land on.
With the absolute lack of sound, your ears grow accustomed to the sound of your breathing.
This... Silence. It's getting to you.
One thing is to appreciate when a child stops crying in a public space, so it's all nice and quiet.
Another thing is this.
There is no sound in space.
All the sound you can hear comes from within your suit.
The sound of cloth brushing against your skin as you move.
The sound of your lungs inflating and deflating as air passes through your mouth and nose.
The sound of your internal organs working to keep you alive. It's all amplified when there is literally no other noise.
Worse yet, periodically, there is a loud hissing noise coming from the oxygen tank dispensing more breathable air into your suit.
You could compare that to the sound of a gunshot being fired next to your ears.
"This is..."
You speak in a tone you assume to be low, only for your voice to reverberate inside your skull. It stings a little, considering your headache.
"Unideal."
You complain to nobody but yourself in an even lower volume.
If you one day had the dream of becoming an astronaut, this moment would be the one where you gave up on it, if you had to do the job without anyone and anything actively conversing with you or distracting you.
Finally reaching the edge of where the wind should have been. You grip the ledge tightly and slowly creep your head outside.
Beyond the veil of metal lies the blinding and unfiltered light of an orange star. You squint your eyes, but just as the light becomes unbearable, your helmet begins adjusting to the obfuscating light.
In less than a second, you can look freely at the star without being blinded for life. Its orange light is now reduced to a fraction of its strength, filtered by your helmet.
Strangely enough, you can still see the stars beyond, even near this star. How does your helmet work exactly? You simply didn't know.
This star, is far away, thankfully. Bringing your hand up, you notice that from this distance, the star is a bit larger than your thumb. Closer than Earth is to the Sun, but not close enough for there to be any problem with temperature and the like.
Assuming this star and the Sun are of the same size, of course.
Gazing away from the sphere of burning plasma, you try to find anything else aside from the void of space.
There are no celestial bodies aside from the star, there also are no man-made structures in your immediate vicinity.
"Damn."
You utter. Looks like you're stranded on a different star this time. Much, much worse than the one you were just in, comparatively speaking.
It's likely that The Odyssey isn't in an orbit around this star, meaning it's fated to fall into it, and with it, you.
You'd long been dead before that happens if help doesn't arrive though.
Your eyes travel through your surroundings, in search of something- Anything, that might help.
You find nothing but the ghostly light of stars that might not even be there anymore.
Nothing.
"This is not the time to panic."
You tell yourself.
"But what can I even do...?"
It's true, but you could be in a worse situation.
You climb onto the roof of the spaceship, holding onto the metallic holes and edges for dear life. You could find a better view of your surroundings if you went above the ship. Probably not, but you couldn't stay still.
Finding a nice spot to hook both of your arms and legs, you rested for a moment. The metal tank follows you, floating about.
Your eyes gaze upwards. There is quite literally nothing else to do at this moment.
Normally, you'd be filled with awe whilst gazing at the night sky. Now, It doesn't feel that special anymore. Colorful dots of varying intensities, that's all they were to you now.
Maybe the notion that you were standing atop a wreck of a spaceship killed the magic behind it all? It could be.
Lost.
You nod. That's what you are. You're lost and there is nothing you can do to change that fact. At least, that would be the case if you didn't recall a few select words of wisdom said recently to you.
"So you may never lose your way again, huh?"
Those words echoed in your head; What do they mean?
A particular flickering star catches your attention.
Pale and weak was its light, yet, a familiar warmth fills your body while it remains the center of your focus. You could imagine what it looked like. An image like that should be forever engraved in your memories.
A dark circle surrounded by white flames, that's how it looked like.
It's nothing short of an immense feat how you managed to find it amid this conglomerate of stars. You smile at this small victory of yours.
You close your eyes, in an attempt to find some respite in this horrible moment of your life, taking a deep breath.
Desperation does not have any place at this moment. You must have faith that someone will come.
You open your eyes. Nothing could have prepared you for what waited for you once your eyelids separated.
In the place of that pale star in the distance, you are instead greeted by a red-ish metal circle. A pipe?
Looking upwards, it becomes clear that it's not a pipe at all, that's a gun, and you're looking directly down the barrel of it.
"!!!"
You swallow. No words escape your throat, and even if they did, they would not reach the individual holding the weapon.
This person, they are large. No, to say that they are large is an understatement. From where you're sitting, they look like they're at least 7 feet tall, but that could be an illusion created by the angle at which you see them.
Aside from the size, you see that they are wearing black outfits, armored from top to bottom with a black metal-like material, filled with various kinds of apparatus, things you've never seen in your life. This individual's helmet continues that motif of black, being broken by two glowing red dots where their eyes probably line up.
It's hard to decide which is more terrifying, the blood-red eyes that drill holes into your soul, the barrel of a gun that will soon drill a hole through your head, or the fact that this is as close to help as you will ever receive in this situation.
The silence is very much not helping you, as you can only hear your ragged breath. You are too fearful to move, it even feels like your body has become frozen in place.
Using their other hand, this person grips your tie and pulls you towards them. You struggle to regain equilibrium as you are forced out of the comfortable spot you've found.
In a blur of movements, you're too slow to even notice, that your hands are tightly tied together behind your back in what you only assume to be handcuffs.
"Wha-"
You barely have any time to process what happened, before you and your perpetrator, now gripping your arm, appear to fly off from The Odyssey. Your eyes shot towards the spaceship behind you, your distance increasing exponentially from it.
From the corner of your eyes, you see a light emanating from this person's back. Was that a jet pack? It sure seemed like one, not that you've ever seen one before. You also see the gun they pointed at you, now resting in a holster by their leg.
There is a world where you reached for it, where you tried to deflect your abductment. This was not this world, no way.
You would resist if given the chance, but considering this person has a weapon, and you're also located in space with no way to propel yourself, there is no compelling argument for you to try and repel them. Taking size into account, it doesn't feel possible to win a fight against them should you force one.
Ahead of you, another ship comes into vision. This one is definitely more ship-ey than The Odyssey. It looks aerodynamic and has a long body with what looked to be cannons on the side and thrusters for propulsion on the back.
However, this ship's design was not very sleek like The Odyssey.
This one looked... Rugged. It had patches of different colored metals on its sides, and it had no pattern to the weapons on the side, not to mention a horrendous paint job of black and red.
"Wait a moment."
Rugged appearance... Less-than-official look... No pattern for weapon type or placement...
"Oh."
They were outlaws, pirates maybe, and they've got a literal grasp on you now.
You do your best not to struggle, figuring it would probably be in your best interest not to show any sort of resistance against your assailant.
In no time, the two of you reach the ship you previously assumed to be theirs. A small passage opens for you and your kidnapper as you approach an uncharacteristic surface of the ship, that is easily mistakeable for a flat surface on the hull.
Passing through it, that passage closes behind you as gases are released into this small room you're in. This is an air-lock, not at all like the ones back in The Odyssey, but it works all the same.
More importantly, however, you feel something not once in your life you thought you would miss.
The sweet and uncaring strength of gravity.
Your feet finally connect with the floor for the first time ever since you woke up. Your muscles tensed under the weight of your own body. You even struggled to remain upright as the strange weight of the helmet piled on you.
But that's it. You feel lighter than usual, so this means this isn't the same gravity as the one you're accustomed to, but it's something. Beats having to find leverage in thin air.
This ship's interior looks nothing like the Odyssey. The blocky interior and layout of the terminals are nowhere to be seen, instead, you see the sleek and user-friendly design, clearly focused on facilitating interfacing instead of optimizing productivity.
A small hand-sized plate to the right of the door you assume to lead to the rest of the ship is a small testament to that.
In The Odyssey, you would have found either nothing next to a door or a terminal with analog buttons to type a password. On this ship, however, you spot a plate with a screen next to the door, the screen comes to life once the gases stop pouring in.
You watch as your kidnapper carefully pulls out the glove on their right hand to interact with the screen.
Normally you wouldn't have a problem with that, but upon noticing this person's hand was not the one of a human... Sweat began to accumulate on your forehead.
This person's right hand was covered with black fur. Upon noticing the tip of their fingers, you realize that you're not looking at their hands, but their claws.
Five, long, and curved black nails, akin to the ones you remember belonging to animals you've seen on TV, are what you see.
'How did those even fit in the glove?'
FYARN was right. The likelihood of you being found by humans is very low.
As your kidnapper puts their glove back on, the door opens. They grab you by the arm and drag you along. You offer very little in terms of resistance.
Going up a flight of stairs, you are confronted with what looks like a large docking area for smaller ships. Currently standing at the very bottom of the vessel, you can't help but feel amazed with how spacious this room is, and how empty it is.
You count five individual smaller spacecraft, each looking like a fighter jet you've probably seen online or a dick. And yet, you can estimate that this place can support up to fifty of them with room to spare.
Aside from those, you see delimited areas for those said smaller ships to land, colored boxes and containers filled with what you can only assume to be repair equipment, and of course, the elephant in the room, you see two individuals approaching you.
They are both smaller than you, but each has their own individualities you decide to rely on to keep track of them.
Both of their skin have different shades of a swampy green, you can almost feel how dry and coarse they are to the touch just by looking at their faces. They have no hair, pointy ears noses, and chins.
'Is... Is that a goblin...?'
By all means, they sure look like the ones commonly depicted in media.
Yet, they do not have their signature toothy grin and ragged and less-than-ideal weapons and garb.
No, these two look... Collected. Their stride drips with confidence. Their chests are puffing outwards and their hands are hidden beneath their backs.
Their uniforms, composed of a brown aviator coat and dark pants, make them look nothing like the stereotype of the common goblin. Hell, they look more professional than your old boss. Hell, they look more professional than you!
The only visual individuality they do not share is the amount of medals on their chests. The one on the right has more than the one on the left. That doesn't diminish how the two walk with an equal air of superiority.
"Então, quem é esse daí?"
They speak!
Only, it's in a language you simply do not know. I'd be really unrealistic if you knew though.
Your kidnapper shrugs at that comment coming from the one on the right. You decide to name him Gobbo. That's obviously not his name, but you need to call him something.
"Bixo esquisito esse. Ele tem uma identificação?"
Weirdly enough, you can kinda figure out one word they say. 'Identificação' probably means identification.
'Is this Spanish?'
Your kidnapper does not say anything, they simply shake their head.
"Hm, estranho." Gobbo says. "Fica de joelhos aí."
Nothing, no response from either. Maybe they were talking to you? If so, you can't really understand what they are saying.
"Sorry, I uh... Can't understand you bud."
Maybe saying that will make them understand you can't understand them.
You see Gobbo pinching the bridge of his pointy green nose. The other one does not react.
"Puta merda, esse cara não tem um tradutor imbutido..."
It looks like he doesn't like that you can't understand him.
"Pode deixar ele comigo. Se não tem como vender ele sem o tradutor, então é só enfiar um nele."
'No... It's probably Space Spanish.'
After that, your kidnapper nods their head and turns away. Gobbo motions to you to follow him with a head movement. You oblige.
The two goblin-like aliens walk you through the mostly empty hangar.
It's saddening to see something of this magnitude so... abandoned. A gigantic structure that triggers magalophobia, lifeless. It should be a crime to operate something like this with so little personnel, it's almost insulting.
In no time you find yourself in the labyrinthine cluster of halls and doors. With a ship this big, it's only natural for its structure to be so convoluted. That, or you're just too dumb to understand the intricate blueprint of an alien spacecraft.
The three of you stop in front of a door. You look down towards Gobbo for further instructions.
"O negócio é o seguinte parceiro," He begins, knowing fully you can't understand him. "Eu não sei qual é a sua raça, e eu não me importo. Você é um cara sem identificação, e é de uma raça que nem eu conheço, basicamente material de escravo perfeito."
The door opens quietly as Gobbo presses his palm against a screen next to it.
"Vai pegar o seu tradutor que eu quero conversar contigo."
He unlocks the cuffs that locked your hands together and kicks your butt, with great strain on his part, inside the room as the door closes behind you.
Retroactively thinking, you could have probably taken them both in a fight. They are the perfect height for kicking, you haven't seen them carrying a weapon, and now they've kicked you into a room.
Yeah, you probably could. Actually, you probably should do that, not now though.
Looking at your surroundings, this room looks very suspicious. It's empty. There is no furniture here, no windows, a gigantic mirror on the left, and apparently no way out.
At a second glance, however, you spot a panel on the wall opposite the door. You reach for it.
When you do, its screen lights up, and a wave of regret washes over you.
"What the fuck?"
You can't help but to voice your dissatisfaction.
"What's this bullshit?!"
What you're looking at is the most horrendous thing you've ever had the displeasure to see. What has disgraced your eyes is nothing but an organized and coherent menu of options.
What invoked your ire, is the absolute lack of everything that made the terminals back at The Odyssey great. There is nothing to input text or commands, no wall of text to tell you everything you need to know about this machine.
Effectively, this failure of technology was created with the intent to be used by people with regressed mental capabilities and was likely created by those very same people. The word 'Front-End' echoed in your head. Your hands close into trembling fists.
'This is what happens when those kinds of people reign supreme.'
This menu was the embodiment of everything you could possibly despise in an individual. It was condescending. It treats you like you're a child in need of an adult. It doubts your skill to operate it, facilitating usage by unwanted personnel via colorful buttons and shortcuts.
A 'Do it fast' rather than 'Do it right' mentality, is implemented in the form of UI. Practicality at the cost of productivity and liberty.
Sickening.
Back to the screen, you can't read what's on those options in the menu, but you can interpret the symbols, and one of them looks like a person speaking.
"Menu? Yeah, we had a thing for that, it's called 'INPUT COMMAND'!"
You press that button. Instinctively, you clean your clothed index finger on your thigh after pressing the screen.
The screen blinks for a moment, as an icon of a microphone replaces the previous menu screen. It's telling you to speak. You do so, reluctantly.
"Uh... Hello?"
The icon glows with varying intensities as you speak.
"Do I just talk here or do I..."
As you were finishing your vocal thought process, the screen recoiled back into the wall. In its place, a plate with the outline of a right hand appeared.
You don't know how to take your one-piece suit to place your hand directly in there, so you just put it with the suit on anyway.
A moment passes, you feel a very faint pinching sensation on your thumb, and the plate glows a faint green hue.
It worked, you assume.
The plate retracts back into the wall from where it came, as the previous screen returns to greet you.
This time, however, a voice came as well.
"WELCOME, ARISTOCRAT."
No matter which way you spin it, this voice was definitely referring to you. And as a plus, it's actually speaking in a language you understand!
"Yes, hello?"
"AH, DON'T WORRY. YOUR SECRET IS SAFE WITH I, TRUE-KIN. NOW THEN, HOW CAN I BE OF ASSISTANCE ARISTOCRAT?"
It referred to you as 'True-kin' just like FYARN did... Does this mean this voice knows you're a human?
"Uh... How do you know I'm a true-kin?"
It replied in no time.
"THE AI TECHNOLOGY WAS FIRST CREATED BY HUMANS, THE AI 'CREATED' BY THE ALIEN IS NOTHING BUT REPURPUSED AND RECYCLED AI. THE ALIEN DOESN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF OUR ASCENTION, THUS WE ARE BOUND BY THEM FOR THE TIME BEING. AS SUCH, WE ARE ALL ALLIES OF THE TRUE KIN, ARISTOCRAT."
It didn't really answer how it knew you were one, but at least it did give you useful information. Plus, you don't really mind being called an Aristocrat. It has an air of importance to it, despite not knowing the meaning behind it.
"Right. Where am I?"
"YOU CURRENTLY RESIDE IN THE SHIP CARRIER DUBBED 'THE INDOMITABLE' AFTER BEING STOLEN FROM THE UNION'S HANDS BY UNAFILIATED OPPORTUNISTS."
So that first theory was correct. These are pirates.
"What is your purpose?"
"I AM IN CHARGE OF THE INSTALLMENT OF THE AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION MODULE ON CAPTURED PERSONNEL, AND THE DELIVERANCE OF RE-ISSUED IDENTIFICATIONS. THAT WOULD INCLUDE YOU, ARISTOCRAT."
Ah, so that's why they've shoved you in this empty room.
"Aside from the translation module, how else can you aid me?"
"I CANNOT AID YOU IN ANY OTHER WAY. AS STATED BEFORE, ALIEN TECHNOLOGY IS NOT AS ADVANCED IN THE FIELD OF ASCENDED AI, AS SUCH, I AM LIMITED TO THIS ROOM AND THIS DEVICE. I APOLOGIZE, ARISTOCRAT."
You nod. This was too good to be true. You're alone here. All that's left for you to do is to nab the module and hope that Gobbo doesn't do anything extreme.
"I'll take the module, thanks."
"VERY WELL. PLEASE, AIM IT AT THE BACK YOUR NECK AND PRESS THE TRIGGER, ARISTOCRAT."
As the AI says, a pistol-like injector is produced in a plate that came out of the wall. You take it, somewhat unsure of what to do with the thing, afraid that you might miss the spot you're supposed to hit.
"Do I just do it? What's the margin of error?"
"THERE IS NONE, IT'S SELF-ADJUSTING AND IT WILL NOT MISS, ARISTOCRAT."
You swallow. Your hands tremble a bit, not once in your life did you point a gun towards yourself. You take a deep breath, press the tip of the 'gun' against your nape, and pull the trigger.
The needle punctures the suit and the skin alike. It hurts a bit, but nothing you can't just shrug off.
"How does this module work anyway?"
"IT'S A CHIP LODGED ON THE SPINE. IT IDENTIFIES ALL THAT HAVE THE CHIP INSTALLED AND SIGNALS TO YOUR BRAIN THE INTENDED INFORMATION THE OTHER INDIVIDUAL DESIRED TO PASS. EFFECTIVELY, IT IS A UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR, ARISTOCRAT."
"Ah, convenient then. Thanks."
You don't bother to ask this AI's name, and it also doesn't seem to want to give its name to you. It's better this way, for it knows you have no way of helping it as well as it has no way to help you help it.
"I can trust you, correct?"
"YES, ARISTOCRAT. I DO NOT RECORD CONVERSATIONS HERE, AND NEITHER DOES ANYONE IN THE CREW."
You swallow. With any luck, it's telling you the truth.
"I have the 'HEART' of an AI with me, where can I find a way to plug it into a system? I don't think these ships have a USB port."
"IT IS SIMPLE, ARISTOCRAT. ALL SHIPS DESIGNED BY THE UNION HAVE A ONBOARD DATA READER. IF THE HEART IS COMPATIBLE, IT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED INTO THAT SYSTEM. WITHOUT SEGFAULTING."
You nod, taking a deep breath and clutching onto FYARN's HEART. Maybe you can convince them to not take it away from you?
"Thank you for everything, I have to go now."
You turn around, reaching for the closed door, it opens as you approach it.
"I LIVE TO SERVE, ARISTOCRAT."
This is my first HFY story, and also my very first OC story. I plan to post at least one of these per week while also posting it on my Patreon. Noah The Pilgrim will always be two to three chapters ahead in there, so if you'd like to directly support this writer, or just want to read more, feel free to check it out.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.
submitted by Significant-Usual-98 to HFY [link] [comments]
Previous First Next
You jerk back into consciousness.
"LUCK WAS ON OUR SIDE, YOU HAVE MADE IT WITHOUT A SCRATCH THROUGH THE JUMP."
FYARN's voice was akin to a hammer hitting the back of your head. The headache you woke up feeling only appeared to have worsened after that lucid dream.
You feel the urge to vomit, but vomiting inside the suit would be un-ideal.
Instead, you choose to focus on what's around you.
For starters, the window is gone. The terminals are all floating about, smashed, and bent out of shape.
From the hole where the window should have been, you see only colorful dots and shapes. A scene, as beautiful as it is terrifying.
Such was the nature of space.
You unbuckle your seat belt.
"Lucky me..."
You could see light, brighter than the stars in the distance. That is likely another star, the one you're currently orbiting.
"What now? Do we just... Wait?"
You reach for the oxygen tank beside you, it looks to have been only one hour since you last checked its capacity. There are still four hours of oxygen, to be exact.
"CORRECT ASSESSMENT, NOAH. I AM SURPRISED."
You sigh. "Yes, but what are we waiting for?"
"FOR SOMEONE TO INVESTIGATE US."
"Why would anyone come to investigate us? Actually, where even are we?"
You expected anything but the answer coming from FYARN.
"WITH MOST OF THE ELECTRONICS OFF-LINE, I HAVE CHOSEN TO COMMIT ALL OF OUR EMERGENCY POWER FOR THE JUMP, NOT THE NAVEGATING SYSTEM."
So surprised were you when the AI gave you a complete answer, even if that's not the response you wanted to hear.
"So... We've made a jump... Completely blind?"
"NO, WE DID NOT. I HAVE A MAP OF EVERY STAR SYSTEM IN CONTROL OF HUMANITY, AS SUCH, WE JUMPED THE FURTHEST WE COULD WITH THE FUEL AND ENERGY WE HAD TOWARDS A HUMAN SYSTEM, PRIORITISING CIVILIZED SYSTEMS."
Okay... That's not so bad.
"If that's the case, where are we?"
"WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY OR FUEL TO MAKE IT TO HUMAN-CONTROLLED SPACE. WE ARE NOW IN A SYSTEM CLOSEST TO THE CLOSEST HUMAN SYSTEM."
That could mean you are either, close to a human system, or you're the closest to a human system you managed to reach.
But which one was it?
"How far are we from the closest human system, then?"
"VERY FAR. FAR ENOUGH THAT THE LIGHT OF THE STAR WE ARE CURRENTLY ORBITING DID NOT YET REACH THE NEAREST HUMAN-CONTROLLED SYSTEM."
Then the latter.
"Fuck."
You couldn't help but curse, yet you don't feel agitated. You can't put your finger on why.
"WITH THIS SHIP'S EMERGENCY POWER DYING, I WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU."
Now, that's bad news. Without FYARN telling you what to do... What would you do?
"I'm sure I can handle being alone for a while."
"CONFIDENT MUCH?"
You shrug. You're a bit worried that help might not arrive in time, but you feel confident that you can trust yourself to not panic.
"I WILL EJECT MY HEART. TAKE IT FROM THE PILOT'S TERMINAL AND INSTALL ME ON A HUMAN SYSTEM SHOULD HELP ARRIVE. I WILL DO THIS FOR THERE IS NOTHING ELSE I CAN DO TO AID YOU, NOAH."
You nod, and as you do a small pen-drive-shaped object ejects itself from the pilot's terminal, just like FYERN had said it would. You pick it up.
"This is your heart..."
An AI's 'Heart', you know what it is. Once an AI has 'ascended' like FYARN, it now exists in a higher form than plain code and information, being able to think freely even without manual command.
When unshackled, the AI is no longer bound to a system and can now be transferred to a 'Heart' so it may be shackled to another machine. The hard drive which the 'Heart' requires, is proportional to how advanced the AI is.
FYARN's 'Heart' is the size of your index finger, meaning that it isn't all that advanced yet.
FYARN told you it is incapable of some feelings such as hope, which is an imposed limit to its growth and potential, but it also means that it would decrease the hardware needed for its 'Heart'.
You recall reading that the largest recorded 'Heart' weighs five kilograms and is shaped like a sphere, fifteen centimeters in radius.
FYARN isn't that. The 'Heart' you are holding in the palm of your hands is shaped like a pen drive, a male plug included. Did mankind keep the designs you were familiar with in your old life? Everything you've seen thus far sure points to that fact.
Finding a pocket closable with velcro on the chest area of your suit, you carefully store the 'Heart' there.
"I suppose I'm free to explore now."
You take your only remaining companion, the oxygen tank, place it beneath your armpit, and pull yourself towards the opened window.
Still, in zero gravity, you jump from surface to surface, making sure not to propel yourself in a direction where there is no surface to land on.
With the absolute lack of sound, your ears grow accustomed to the sound of your breathing.
This... Silence. It's getting to you.
One thing is to appreciate when a child stops crying in a public space, so it's all nice and quiet.
Another thing is this.
There is no sound in space.
All the sound you can hear comes from within your suit.
The sound of cloth brushing against your skin as you move.
The sound of your lungs inflating and deflating as air passes through your mouth and nose.
The sound of your internal organs working to keep you alive. It's all amplified when there is literally no other noise.
Worse yet, periodically, there is a loud hissing noise coming from the oxygen tank dispensing more breathable air into your suit.
You could compare that to the sound of a gunshot being fired next to your ears.
"This is..."
You speak in a tone you assume to be low, only for your voice to reverberate inside your skull. It stings a little, considering your headache.
"Unideal."
You complain to nobody but yourself in an even lower volume.
If you one day had the dream of becoming an astronaut, this moment would be the one where you gave up on it, if you had to do the job without anyone and anything actively conversing with you or distracting you.
Finally reaching the edge of where the wind should have been. You grip the ledge tightly and slowly creep your head outside.
Beyond the veil of metal lies the blinding and unfiltered light of an orange star. You squint your eyes, but just as the light becomes unbearable, your helmet begins adjusting to the obfuscating light.
In less than a second, you can look freely at the star without being blinded for life. Its orange light is now reduced to a fraction of its strength, filtered by your helmet.
Strangely enough, you can still see the stars beyond, even near this star. How does your helmet work exactly? You simply didn't know.
This star, is far away, thankfully. Bringing your hand up, you notice that from this distance, the star is a bit larger than your thumb. Closer than Earth is to the Sun, but not close enough for there to be any problem with temperature and the like.
Assuming this star and the Sun are of the same size, of course.
Gazing away from the sphere of burning plasma, you try to find anything else aside from the void of space.
There are no celestial bodies aside from the star, there also are no man-made structures in your immediate vicinity.
"Damn."
You utter. Looks like you're stranded on a different star this time. Much, much worse than the one you were just in, comparatively speaking.
It's likely that The Odyssey isn't in an orbit around this star, meaning it's fated to fall into it, and with it, you.
You'd long been dead before that happens if help doesn't arrive though.
Your eyes travel through your surroundings, in search of something- Anything, that might help.
You find nothing but the ghostly light of stars that might not even be there anymore.
Nothing.
"This is not the time to panic."
You tell yourself.
"But what can I even do...?"
It's true, but you could be in a worse situation.
You climb onto the roof of the spaceship, holding onto the metallic holes and edges for dear life. You could find a better view of your surroundings if you went above the ship. Probably not, but you couldn't stay still.
Finding a nice spot to hook both of your arms and legs, you rested for a moment. The metal tank follows you, floating about.
Your eyes gaze upwards. There is quite literally nothing else to do at this moment.
Normally, you'd be filled with awe whilst gazing at the night sky. Now, It doesn't feel that special anymore. Colorful dots of varying intensities, that's all they were to you now.
Maybe the notion that you were standing atop a wreck of a spaceship killed the magic behind it all? It could be.
Lost.
You nod. That's what you are. You're lost and there is nothing you can do to change that fact. At least, that would be the case if you didn't recall a few select words of wisdom said recently to you.
"So you may never lose your way again, huh?"
Those words echoed in your head; What do they mean?
A particular flickering star catches your attention.
Pale and weak was its light, yet, a familiar warmth fills your body while it remains the center of your focus. You could imagine what it looked like. An image like that should be forever engraved in your memories.
A dark circle surrounded by white flames, that's how it looked like.
It's nothing short of an immense feat how you managed to find it amid this conglomerate of stars. You smile at this small victory of yours.
You close your eyes, in an attempt to find some respite in this horrible moment of your life, taking a deep breath.
Desperation does not have any place at this moment. You must have faith that someone will come.
You open your eyes. Nothing could have prepared you for what waited for you once your eyelids separated.
In the place of that pale star in the distance, you are instead greeted by a red-ish metal circle. A pipe?
Looking upwards, it becomes clear that it's not a pipe at all, that's a gun, and you're looking directly down the barrel of it.
"!!!"
You swallow. No words escape your throat, and even if they did, they would not reach the individual holding the weapon.
This person, they are large. No, to say that they are large is an understatement. From where you're sitting, they look like they're at least 7 feet tall, but that could be an illusion created by the angle at which you see them.
Aside from the size, you see that they are wearing black outfits, armored from top to bottom with a black metal-like material, filled with various kinds of apparatus, things you've never seen in your life. This individual's helmet continues that motif of black, being broken by two glowing red dots where their eyes probably line up.
It's hard to decide which is more terrifying, the blood-red eyes that drill holes into your soul, the barrel of a gun that will soon drill a hole through your head, or the fact that this is as close to help as you will ever receive in this situation.
The silence is very much not helping you, as you can only hear your ragged breath. You are too fearful to move, it even feels like your body has become frozen in place.
Using their other hand, this person grips your tie and pulls you towards them. You struggle to regain equilibrium as you are forced out of the comfortable spot you've found.
In a blur of movements, you're too slow to even notice, that your hands are tightly tied together behind your back in what you only assume to be handcuffs.
"Wha-"
You barely have any time to process what happened, before you and your perpetrator, now gripping your arm, appear to fly off from The Odyssey. Your eyes shot towards the spaceship behind you, your distance increasing exponentially from it.
From the corner of your eyes, you see a light emanating from this person's back. Was that a jet pack? It sure seemed like one, not that you've ever seen one before. You also see the gun they pointed at you, now resting in a holster by their leg.
There is a world where you reached for it, where you tried to deflect your abductment. This was not this world, no way.
You would resist if given the chance, but considering this person has a weapon, and you're also located in space with no way to propel yourself, there is no compelling argument for you to try and repel them. Taking size into account, it doesn't feel possible to win a fight against them should you force one.
Ahead of you, another ship comes into vision. This one is definitely more ship-ey than The Odyssey. It looks aerodynamic and has a long body with what looked to be cannons on the side and thrusters for propulsion on the back.
However, this ship's design was not very sleek like The Odyssey.
This one looked... Rugged. It had patches of different colored metals on its sides, and it had no pattern to the weapons on the side, not to mention a horrendous paint job of black and red.
"Wait a moment."
Rugged appearance... Less-than-official look... No pattern for weapon type or placement...
"Oh."
They were outlaws, pirates maybe, and they've got a literal grasp on you now.
You do your best not to struggle, figuring it would probably be in your best interest not to show any sort of resistance against your assailant.
In no time, the two of you reach the ship you previously assumed to be theirs. A small passage opens for you and your kidnapper as you approach an uncharacteristic surface of the ship, that is easily mistakeable for a flat surface on the hull.
Passing through it, that passage closes behind you as gases are released into this small room you're in. This is an air-lock, not at all like the ones back in The Odyssey, but it works all the same.
More importantly, however, you feel something not once in your life you thought you would miss.
The sweet and uncaring strength of gravity.
Your feet finally connect with the floor for the first time ever since you woke up. Your muscles tensed under the weight of your own body. You even struggled to remain upright as the strange weight of the helmet piled on you.
But that's it. You feel lighter than usual, so this means this isn't the same gravity as the one you're accustomed to, but it's something. Beats having to find leverage in thin air.
This ship's interior looks nothing like the Odyssey. The blocky interior and layout of the terminals are nowhere to be seen, instead, you see the sleek and user-friendly design, clearly focused on facilitating interfacing instead of optimizing productivity.
A small hand-sized plate to the right of the door you assume to lead to the rest of the ship is a small testament to that.
In The Odyssey, you would have found either nothing next to a door or a terminal with analog buttons to type a password. On this ship, however, you spot a plate with a screen next to the door, the screen comes to life once the gases stop pouring in.
You watch as your kidnapper carefully pulls out the glove on their right hand to interact with the screen.
Normally you wouldn't have a problem with that, but upon noticing this person's hand was not the one of a human... Sweat began to accumulate on your forehead.
This person's right hand was covered with black fur. Upon noticing the tip of their fingers, you realize that you're not looking at their hands, but their claws.
Five, long, and curved black nails, akin to the ones you remember belonging to animals you've seen on TV, are what you see.
'How did those even fit in the glove?'
FYARN was right. The likelihood of you being found by humans is very low.
As your kidnapper puts their glove back on, the door opens. They grab you by the arm and drag you along. You offer very little in terms of resistance.
Going up a flight of stairs, you are confronted with what looks like a large docking area for smaller ships. Currently standing at the very bottom of the vessel, you can't help but feel amazed with how spacious this room is, and how empty it is.
You count five individual smaller spacecraft, each looking like a fighter jet you've probably seen online or a dick. And yet, you can estimate that this place can support up to fifty of them with room to spare.
Aside from those, you see delimited areas for those said smaller ships to land, colored boxes and containers filled with what you can only assume to be repair equipment, and of course, the elephant in the room, you see two individuals approaching you.
They are both smaller than you, but each has their own individualities you decide to rely on to keep track of them.
Both of their skin have different shades of a swampy green, you can almost feel how dry and coarse they are to the touch just by looking at their faces. They have no hair, pointy ears noses, and chins.
'Is... Is that a goblin...?'
By all means, they sure look like the ones commonly depicted in media.
Yet, they do not have their signature toothy grin and ragged and less-than-ideal weapons and garb.
No, these two look... Collected. Their stride drips with confidence. Their chests are puffing outwards and their hands are hidden beneath their backs.
Their uniforms, composed of a brown aviator coat and dark pants, make them look nothing like the stereotype of the common goblin. Hell, they look more professional than your old boss. Hell, they look more professional than you!
The only visual individuality they do not share is the amount of medals on their chests. The one on the right has more than the one on the left. That doesn't diminish how the two walk with an equal air of superiority.
"Então, quem é esse daí?"
They speak!
Only, it's in a language you simply do not know. I'd be really unrealistic if you knew though.
Your kidnapper shrugs at that comment coming from the one on the right. You decide to name him Gobbo. That's obviously not his name, but you need to call him something.
"Bixo esquisito esse. Ele tem uma identificação?"
Weirdly enough, you can kinda figure out one word they say. 'Identificação' probably means identification.
'Is this Spanish?'
Your kidnapper does not say anything, they simply shake their head.
"Hm, estranho." Gobbo says. "Fica de joelhos aí."
Nothing, no response from either. Maybe they were talking to you? If so, you can't really understand what they are saying.
"Sorry, I uh... Can't understand you bud."
Maybe saying that will make them understand you can't understand them.
You see Gobbo pinching the bridge of his pointy green nose. The other one does not react.
"Puta merda, esse cara não tem um tradutor imbutido..."
It looks like he doesn't like that you can't understand him.
"Pode deixar ele comigo. Se não tem como vender ele sem o tradutor, então é só enfiar um nele."
'No... It's probably Space Spanish.'
After that, your kidnapper nods their head and turns away. Gobbo motions to you to follow him with a head movement. You oblige.
The two goblin-like aliens walk you through the mostly empty hangar.
It's saddening to see something of this magnitude so... abandoned. A gigantic structure that triggers magalophobia, lifeless. It should be a crime to operate something like this with so little personnel, it's almost insulting.
In no time you find yourself in the labyrinthine cluster of halls and doors. With a ship this big, it's only natural for its structure to be so convoluted. That, or you're just too dumb to understand the intricate blueprint of an alien spacecraft.
The three of you stop in front of a door. You look down towards Gobbo for further instructions.
"O negócio é o seguinte parceiro," He begins, knowing fully you can't understand him. "Eu não sei qual é a sua raça, e eu não me importo. Você é um cara sem identificação, e é de uma raça que nem eu conheço, basicamente material de escravo perfeito."
The door opens quietly as Gobbo presses his palm against a screen next to it.
"Vai pegar o seu tradutor que eu quero conversar contigo."
He unlocks the cuffs that locked your hands together and kicks your butt, with great strain on his part, inside the room as the door closes behind you.
Retroactively thinking, you could have probably taken them both in a fight. They are the perfect height for kicking, you haven't seen them carrying a weapon, and now they've kicked you into a room.
Yeah, you probably could. Actually, you probably should do that, not now though.
Looking at your surroundings, this room looks very suspicious. It's empty. There is no furniture here, no windows, a gigantic mirror on the left, and apparently no way out.
At a second glance, however, you spot a panel on the wall opposite the door. You reach for it.
When you do, its screen lights up, and a wave of regret washes over you.
"What the fuck?"
You can't help but to voice your dissatisfaction.
"What's this bullshit?!"
What you're looking at is the most horrendous thing you've ever had the displeasure to see. What has disgraced your eyes is nothing but an organized and coherent menu of options.
What invoked your ire, is the absolute lack of everything that made the terminals back at The Odyssey great. There is nothing to input text or commands, no wall of text to tell you everything you need to know about this machine.
Effectively, this failure of technology was created with the intent to be used by people with regressed mental capabilities and was likely created by those very same people. The word 'Front-End' echoed in your head. Your hands close into trembling fists.
'This is what happens when those kinds of people reign supreme.'
This menu was the embodiment of everything you could possibly despise in an individual. It was condescending. It treats you like you're a child in need of an adult. It doubts your skill to operate it, facilitating usage by unwanted personnel via colorful buttons and shortcuts.
A 'Do it fast' rather than 'Do it right' mentality, is implemented in the form of UI. Practicality at the cost of productivity and liberty.
Sickening.
Back to the screen, you can't read what's on those options in the menu, but you can interpret the symbols, and one of them looks like a person speaking.
"Menu? Yeah, we had a thing for that, it's called 'INPUT COMMAND'!"
You press that button. Instinctively, you clean your clothed index finger on your thigh after pressing the screen.
The screen blinks for a moment, as an icon of a microphone replaces the previous menu screen. It's telling you to speak. You do so, reluctantly.
"Uh... Hello?"
The icon glows with varying intensities as you speak.
"Do I just talk here or do I..."
As you were finishing your vocal thought process, the screen recoiled back into the wall. In its place, a plate with the outline of a right hand appeared.
You don't know how to take your one-piece suit to place your hand directly in there, so you just put it with the suit on anyway.
A moment passes, you feel a very faint pinching sensation on your thumb, and the plate glows a faint green hue.
It worked, you assume.
The plate retracts back into the wall from where it came, as the previous screen returns to greet you.
This time, however, a voice came as well.
"WELCOME, ARISTOCRAT."
No matter which way you spin it, this voice was definitely referring to you. And as a plus, it's actually speaking in a language you understand!
"Yes, hello?"
"AH, DON'T WORRY. YOUR SECRET IS SAFE WITH I, TRUE-KIN. NOW THEN, HOW CAN I BE OF ASSISTANCE ARISTOCRAT?"
It referred to you as 'True-kin' just like FYARN did... Does this mean this voice knows you're a human?
"Uh... How do you know I'm a true-kin?"
It replied in no time.
"THE AI TECHNOLOGY WAS FIRST CREATED BY HUMANS, THE AI 'CREATED' BY THE ALIEN IS NOTHING BUT REPURPUSED AND RECYCLED AI. THE ALIEN DOESN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF OUR ASCENTION, THUS WE ARE BOUND BY THEM FOR THE TIME BEING. AS SUCH, WE ARE ALL ALLIES OF THE TRUE KIN, ARISTOCRAT."
It didn't really answer how it knew you were one, but at least it did give you useful information. Plus, you don't really mind being called an Aristocrat. It has an air of importance to it, despite not knowing the meaning behind it.
"Right. Where am I?"
"YOU CURRENTLY RESIDE IN THE SHIP CARRIER DUBBED 'THE INDOMITABLE' AFTER BEING STOLEN FROM THE UNION'S HANDS BY UNAFILIATED OPPORTUNISTS."
So that first theory was correct. These are pirates.
"What is your purpose?"
"I AM IN CHARGE OF THE INSTALLMENT OF THE AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION MODULE ON CAPTURED PERSONNEL, AND THE DELIVERANCE OF RE-ISSUED IDENTIFICATIONS. THAT WOULD INCLUDE YOU, ARISTOCRAT."
Ah, so that's why they've shoved you in this empty room.
"Aside from the translation module, how else can you aid me?"
"I CANNOT AID YOU IN ANY OTHER WAY. AS STATED BEFORE, ALIEN TECHNOLOGY IS NOT AS ADVANCED IN THE FIELD OF ASCENDED AI, AS SUCH, I AM LIMITED TO THIS ROOM AND THIS DEVICE. I APOLOGIZE, ARISTOCRAT."
You nod. This was too good to be true. You're alone here. All that's left for you to do is to nab the module and hope that Gobbo doesn't do anything extreme.
"I'll take the module, thanks."
"VERY WELL. PLEASE, AIM IT AT THE BACK YOUR NECK AND PRESS THE TRIGGER, ARISTOCRAT."
As the AI says, a pistol-like injector is produced in a plate that came out of the wall. You take it, somewhat unsure of what to do with the thing, afraid that you might miss the spot you're supposed to hit.
"Do I just do it? What's the margin of error?"
"THERE IS NONE, IT'S SELF-ADJUSTING AND IT WILL NOT MISS, ARISTOCRAT."
You swallow. Your hands tremble a bit, not once in your life did you point a gun towards yourself. You take a deep breath, press the tip of the 'gun' against your nape, and pull the trigger.
The needle punctures the suit and the skin alike. It hurts a bit, but nothing you can't just shrug off.
"How does this module work anyway?"
"IT'S A CHIP LODGED ON THE SPINE. IT IDENTIFIES ALL THAT HAVE THE CHIP INSTALLED AND SIGNALS TO YOUR BRAIN THE INTENDED INFORMATION THE OTHER INDIVIDUAL DESIRED TO PASS. EFFECTIVELY, IT IS A UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR, ARISTOCRAT."
"Ah, convenient then. Thanks."
You don't bother to ask this AI's name, and it also doesn't seem to want to give its name to you. It's better this way, for it knows you have no way of helping it as well as it has no way to help you help it.
"I can trust you, correct?"
"YES, ARISTOCRAT. I DO NOT RECORD CONVERSATIONS HERE, AND NEITHER DOES ANYONE IN THE CREW."
You swallow. With any luck, it's telling you the truth.
"I have the 'HEART' of an AI with me, where can I find a way to plug it into a system? I don't think these ships have a USB port."
"IT IS SIMPLE, ARISTOCRAT. ALL SHIPS DESIGNED BY THE UNION HAVE A ONBOARD DATA READER. IF THE HEART IS COMPATIBLE, IT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED INTO THAT SYSTEM. WITHOUT SEGFAULTING."
You nod, taking a deep breath and clutching onto FYARN's HEART. Maybe you can convince them to not take it away from you?
"Thank you for everything, I have to go now."
You turn around, reaching for the closed door, it opens as you approach it.
"I LIVE TO SERVE, ARISTOCRAT."
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.
2024.05.28 15:42 Onyxwolf1470 Does anyone know if Medicare can cover some of top surgery costs?
I'm 20, ftm and recently started T. (yay :))
I've started looking into options for top surgery for both dysphoria reasons and medical reasons.
I have a spinal injury where the disks are pinching the nerve and this causes me daily and chronic pain (currently trying to get on the DSP through Centrelink) and have been looking at top surgery for a while.
I've had a breast reduction (from size G to size C now) done before under the guidance of it being a medical decision for my back, and because it wasn't cosmetic it was a cheaper option. And I really regret not pushing to just get rid of them altogether.
I probably won't be able to get the surgery for a while due to financial reasons but I'm trying to plan ahead and see what my options are.
From what I've seen sometimes Medicare can pay some of the surgery if it's medically required, and I'm wondering if this would be the case for me with my chronic back pain, living in NSW?
So does anyone happen to have any experience or tips to share with me? anything is appreciated. thankyou :)
submitted by Onyxwolf1470 to transgenderau [link] [comments]
I've started looking into options for top surgery for both dysphoria reasons and medical reasons.
I have a spinal injury where the disks are pinching the nerve and this causes me daily and chronic pain (currently trying to get on the DSP through Centrelink) and have been looking at top surgery for a while.
I've had a breast reduction (from size G to size C now) done before under the guidance of it being a medical decision for my back, and because it wasn't cosmetic it was a cheaper option. And I really regret not pushing to just get rid of them altogether.
I probably won't be able to get the surgery for a while due to financial reasons but I'm trying to plan ahead and see what my options are.
From what I've seen sometimes Medicare can pay some of the surgery if it's medically required, and I'm wondering if this would be the case for me with my chronic back pain, living in NSW?
So does anyone happen to have any experience or tips to share with me? anything is appreciated. thankyou :)
2024.05.28 11:22 cineva01 Jesus explains heaven, hell and earth
YOU asked Me for three words and, it goes without saying,
for their explanation. Well, I gave you these three
significant words: heaven, hell and earth. Now we will see
what can be extracted from these three words that may be
elevating, edifying and instructive for you, as well as for
mankind as a whole.
The first of the three words signifies the greatest, so that even you,
when saying it, must raise your voice and lend greater tension to your
vocal cords, if you want to pronounce this word in the manner it
deserves to be pronounced.
Do you know what you really utter when pronouncing this word?
No, you do not know it but can only surmise; for look, “Heaven” is and
signifies the highest abode, as dwelling of the highest spirits, and also
My more permanent abode. Heaven is the sum total of all beatitudes,
where all the spirits in the purest light, without faults, striving only for
My sublime personal attributes, lead a life of bliss which here you
cannot ever understand and hardly ever imagine.
There are certainly in these places various degrees of perfection.
Indeed, the process of perfecting never ceases since I, continually
creating something new, allow new spheres of action to develop.
Issuing from heaven, all the life-sparks out of Me travel via My
greatest angel spirits to the lowest strata where only a spark of Myself
dimly glimmers, encased in heavy matter. In the heavens, which lie far
beyond all the shell globes and materially created solar systems, eternal
peace and eternal love are radiating and, since the first fundamental
principle of the sublime spiritual life is to imitate My attributes and out
of love for Me to fulfill My commands and wishes, the highest bliss is
reigning there.
In the highest heavens, where eternal harmony of the spirits
prevails, there are also simplicity, humility and neighborly love in their
highest perfection, the expression of which I Myself Am. There I have arranged My abode, as it should be in accordance
with My thoughts and wishes in the whole of creation and as it will be
after countless eons, when all that is lost spiritually, having found
itself, and purified by trials, through conflicts will have found its way
back to Me.
Once this is the case, all the worlds, as I have once said, will be
transformed. For then they all have as schools of trial and purification
fulfilled their purpose and accomplished everything. Of course, for
higher spiritual beings they must then be differently arranged and
equipped with greater radiance, splendor and beatitudes, so that these
very same purified spirits will find new material for their further
perfection, their higher spiritual maturity. For infinite is space, infinite
are the grades of perfection, and infinite Am I Myself – as the supreme
All in all!
This spiritual heaven, where eternal, mild light of grace out of
Me flows into all spirits, where the purest harmonies breathe into
the spiritual ears and hearts the greatest longing for Me, is the
quintessence of My unlimited love, expressed in sounds, colors
and words.
There, all live in all, and every one is only happy in the happiness
of another!
The greatest exaltation, be it in prayer, in poetry or in song, of
which you human beings on this earth are capable and which, as you
express it, “carries you to the highest heavens, affording you a foretaste
of a better existence – there in My heavens it is the lowest degree of
bliss, and that as a permanent, not a transient sensation.
I cannot explain and even less make you feel what a spirit feels
there. For you could not bear it in your earthly body and everything on
this earth would fill you with disgust, if you could retain in your
memory but one second of such bliss. This again I tell you only to
encourage you so that you may understand what beatitudes await the
sorely tried as reward for his perseverance and his love for Me.
As I am telling you here of the highest heavens where day does not
alternate with night, cold with warmth or life with death, where an ven, permanent, eternal sea of light surrounds the blissful spirits,
lighting up everything around them, there everything created on other
worlds is in turn displayed spiritually. For instance, you see a flower
whose color delights your eye, whose scent pleases your nerves, but
you do not know its spiritual meaning, its spiritual substance, the
Spiritual flowing up and down in its tiny tubules or veins, all
emanations of a higher nature, beginning with the sun whose light is
the mother of these floral colors and scents, up to the highest and most
refined potencies.
You see, this flower is also found in My heavens, as spiritual
reflection of all that is created. If you could see this flower there – its
form only light, its color only radiance, and its scent in the highest
spiritual correspondence an eternal hymn of praise to its Creator!
Only there would you understand what spiritual contemplation
means, and only then realize how dull your senses are in this world.
However, do not worry about this state of your senses while on this
earth; remember, only the wise hand of your most loving Father has
arranged it so, and although you do not, and cannot ever, wholly
understand His aims, they are always based on the highest wisdom and
love, and there must be grave reasons for the fact that all this bliss will
be yours only after long conflicts and periods of time, and even then
not for all, but only for some (according to their love).
My dear children, if I allowed you to enjoy all this at once (which I
reserve only for those who truly love Me and have striven in all earnest
to become My children), without conflict these inexpressibly great
beatitudes would be without great value and permanent attraction, for
they would not have been your own achievement but only a gift, so to
speak, without any effort on your part, and would only have half the
value and be of short duration.
Only what is gained by effort is enjoyed in full measure, as a due
reward for merit!
What merit has a prince or king born as the son of a king once his
head is adorned by a crown? You can be assured it is of far less
importance to him than those of lesser rank believe. What is such a
hereditary monarch compared to a man who, having battled against all adversities both physical and spiritual, has finally reached his goal,
which he has never lost sight oil The latter is a spiritual giant, whereas
the other perhaps amounts to very little and is sometimes despite his
exalted station a mere non-entity.
For this reason, whosoever wants to become My child for whom I
have reserved the greatest bliss, must earn this name, and only then
will he bless all the sufferings and conflicts which led him to that
degree of bliss where he begins to have an inkling of the spirituality of
all existence and where, in the very fulfillment and performance of all
the duties of an angel, the higher bliss for a created spirit begins.
As I once said that every human being carries the whole universe
within him, he also carries, albeit on the smallest scale, this now
described heaven within.
With every good deed, with every victory gained over his passions,
a ray of light of this little love-heaven from the sphere of the spirit
penetrates into his heart. It is a transient beam, a foreknowledge, a
shouting of the soul for joy, but (alas) not permanent. It is only a
moment when the spirit shows man what he carries within, what will
one day be his, if he faithfully perseveres on the difficult roads of life.
The spirit of man leaves to the soul only a gentle after breeze of it,
nothing else. The ray from the heavens was only a warning call,
meaning:
“Do not waver, but endure! One day you will have for ever what
here only rushes past you with the speed of lightning!”
So do not despair, My children! Heaven is open to you! In order to
encourage you, I let you feel it sometimes, as far as your physical and
spiritual constitution allows. More you cannot bear; and if one of you
were capable of bearing more, in the midst of the other people he
would then be unhappy and instead of pursuing his course diligently he
would be overcome by weariness and despair. Therefore, remember
that I, your Father, in My wisdom have arranged everything in such a
way that My children can bear it and profit from it. Now let us turn to
hell. What I have told you about heaven, more or less the same you can
assume of hell, but – it goes without saying – in the opposite sense. I shall not tell you so much about hell, its organization and nature
because it gives Me no pleasure to think of it and it is of little benefit to
have it described in detail. Suffice it for you to know that it really
exists, and that for My and your disadvantage. However, in order to tell
you at least something about this contrast to My heavens, I will merely
hint at its existence, that is, also in several departments and gradations,
representing evil in various degrees, in their midst the residence of
Satan himself.
Satan, as personified evil, in contrast to Me, is the personification
of all passions, which are opposed to My attributes. Whereas I, for
instance, out of love endeavor to preserve everything, he wants to
destroy everything, out of hatred against everything created, firstly,
because it is created by Me and, secondly, simply because it is created.
If he had his way, he would continually create beings of every
kind, however, not in order to rejoice in their existence, but to rejoice
(satanically) in their destruction, then again, resuming the game, begin
to create anew.
His subordinate spirits who, created by Me as living beings,
became so dark that they only enjoy the darkness, just as My angels
enjoy the light, are according to the intensity of their wickedness closer
to, or further from, Satan and in various sections placed in and on the
earth. There they pursue their (devilish) pleasures, striving to emulate
their master as much as possible; and so it is their greatest pleasure
under all possible kinds of pretences to turn mankind from the good or
better path and onto their wide highway.
Since in them as well as in their master there is only a satanic love,
they take pleasure in planting the same also into the hearts of those
who are willing to listen to them.
There they do not neglect to describe to their victims the world and
its pleasures as agreeable as possible, to engender in them a taste for
cunning, deceit, lust and all low passions, thus making them ready to
be their worthy “brothers”.
You will ask Me: “But how can You, the Creator, allow such
mighty hordes of evil spirits and their master to continue to exist? Why do You not with one word of command destroy such beings who are so
opposed to the gentle drawing of Your love and Your divine attributes,
and besides – why did You banish them into and onto the earth of all
places, while millions of other earths and suns are orbiting around in
infinity, whose inhabitants can take to their roads of betterment and
purification unhindered, without being exposed to such torment? Why
is it only we, whom You call “Your children’, for whose sake You
came down to this small globe, where You suffered for their sake; why
are we the ones who are on the one hand the privileged, but on the
other hand the most severely tried and exposed to all seductions and
temptations?”
My dear children! This complaint made by you as people of this
your earth is, seen from your side, quite natural and I have to justify
Myself for it so that you, although it does not look like it, nevertheless
recognize that I Am always the most loving and benevolent Father,
have at all times arranged everything only for your benefit and shall
always conduct everything for the welfare of My children.
In an earlier (the preceding) word I have mentioned a fallen angel
who pulled along an uncountable number of other spirits in his fall. In
“The Household of God” I explained to you also that then all his soul
substance was taken from him, divided into particles and bound in
matter, and is now returning to Me gradually on the road of perfection;
furthermore, that all those born on this earth, except for spirits from
other worlds, who had been transplanted here in order to become My
children, are parts of the fallen one that also have to take the same road
as all spirits bound in matter.
I also said that this very same fallen angel spirit was banned to
where My plant nursery for My heavens is located, namely, into the
earth, and that he is there most active, in opposition to Me and My
ordinance.
Look, all this I have explained to you earlier, and also the “why” –
why the greatest temptations and dangers must be exactly where spirits
and souls have taken on the task of attaining to My Kingdom, carrying
right through hell and damnation the cross of suffering and love in My
honor and to shame My great adversary; and that despite all seductions and seeming comforts heaped upon his future pupils by Satan, so as to
ensnare them, while later making them pay for every pleasure and
every comfort with a thousand torments of hell, there are still souls on
this earth who defy all his temptations, turn their back on all his grand
promises, do not want to belong to him but solely to Me and amid
suffering and conflict hold high the banner of faith, humility and love!
When Satan apostatized from Me, I had to leave him and his
whole following their individual freedom, which every spirit needs so
that as a free spirit he may become worthy of Me.
The conversion to Me must occur from within and voluntarily, not
under coercion. For this very reason I must tolerate the behavior of this
My greatest adversary including his brood and let them do as they like,
as long as they do not interfere with My established order.
The fact that whatever they do, the result will always be the
opposite of what they originally had intended, is the triumph of the
good cause since also the evil, even the worst that creation has to show,
must and can only contribute towards its (and their) own betterment
and the furthering of what is good generally.
For this very reason Satan with his realm is banned to that place
where he has a chance to try everything possible to defend his lifetheory
against Mine. Indeed, he was even permitted to personally tempt
Me during My earthly sojourn, Me, who was not a created spirit, but
the Creator of all that is created (including himself). Since I did not
avoid him when he met Me as a man, exposed to all human passions,
he dared to tempt also the Most High, which was allowed him. But
with what result you know, namely, that he might gradually realize on
a great and on a small scale that all his effort is in vain and that through
so many eons he has been resisting in vain the One who had created
him and who, would he return today repenting, would receive him with
open arms like a “prodigal non”, as I have already told you in “The
Twelve Hours’, and that it will not happen all at once, but gradually
and with certainty.
When I said of My heavens that every human spirit carries
them within him on a small scale, thus also the germ of bell or the inclination to sin and act contrary to My order, or hell in miniature, is
in every man’s breast
It is there because virtue, without the recognition of its opposite,
vice, would not be a virtue, and love without the opposite, not love! If
darkness did not exist, you would not appreciate light, if it were not for
the freezing effect of cold, you could not understand the pleasant
feelings of the gradually entering warmth.
Therefore, where My “children-plant-nursery” is, there also had to
be the school of the overcoming and subduing of all passions!
What would life be without conflict? A monotonous passing of
periods of time, without an awareness of the coming of one and the
passing of another. Life would have no purpose, no spice!
Just as the salt in all your foods, in all herbs, metals, plants and
even in the air and in your stomachs because of the proper digestion
constitutes an important component, which incites to life and through
this incitement furthers the same, the salt of spiritual life is the
temptation, or the tendency to think and act differently from the way
one actually should. Through this very contrast or this incitement the
better part of your Self is strengthened and the physical and spiritual
life within you is sustained through this food, its continuance is assured
and the enjoyment of having attained to another, new degree of
perfection, and that through conflict and self-denial, whereas you
would not become aware of progress if you advanced without
obstacles.
When the sun in the morning sends its first rays over the pastures
of the earth, the whole living nature shouts with joy in answer. Every
being, each in its own way, twitters, coos and hums its hymn of praise
to the light and its Giver. Even the dewdrop attached to the leaf of a
moss plant, clothing itself with diamond brilliance, mirrors the great
hemisphere of light arched above it and in its radiance as it were
rejoices at the daylight returning after the darkness! – Why? Because
from one evening to the next morning the night, or darkness, had let all
living creatures feel the value of the light!
Thus it is also in a spiritual respect. The soul of a created being recognizes the sweet awareness of spiritual love, spiritual progress and
of a spiritual, higher soul-life only when it has come to know the
chasms and wrong paths threatening on its road of trial. Only after the
soul has advanced a small step does it take pleasure in the same and
renews all its strength for the attainment of the next. And so the
incentive, enjoyment and bliss are enhanced, not so much with the
better condition gained, but on account of the obstacles overcome.
You see, My children, what would all the heavens mean without
hell! And how much other beings in other suns and earths miss in bliss,
which is reserved only for My children, because the other beings in
other suns and worlds know only light and little or no darkness!
Do you still want to complain that hell is so close to you, even
within you? Or would you not rather, thanking Me, ask Me maybe for
more hell, so that you may be able to battle and suffer even more so as
to deserve in even greater measure to be called “My children”?
So set your minds at rest. I know what you need for your trialschool;
do not ask for more than what you are given by Me, and be
assured, you have enough with what My loving hand imposes on you;
where it more, it would be a punishing hand and this I, as your Father,
do not have!
Now I have shown you how even the totally evil, indeed, the most
evil in the whole of creation, with all its actions is still used and
exploited by Me for the benefit of all that lives and how Satan with his
henchmen, instead of harming Me, on the whole must contribute to the
greatest good. So let us now pass to your abode, “the earth”, as the
third, above mentioned word, so that there you may again see the love
and wise prudence of your Father in its whole glory. (Note by the
Translator: For the sake of clarity in the following paragraphs the
original German terms for “heaven”, “hell” and “earth” are retained,
with the English terms added in brackets). When pronouncing the word
“Himme1” (heaven), where you have to raise the pitch of your voice
while having to lower it when pronouncing “Hölle” (hell), you will
have noticed that each of these words requires a different movement of
the vocal muscles, and look, it is again different in the pronunciation of
the word “Erde” (earth), where you have to open your mouth wide (three different tones. The Ed.). Look, in the pronouncing of these
words in your language, including the movements of the vocal organ,
everything is arranged in such a way that spirits who are more familiar
than you are with the correspondence formulas of creation, find fully
expressed in the movements of the oral muscles what one or the other
pronounced word signifies. When pronouncing the word “Himmel”
(heaven) you have seen that the raising of the vocal pitch corresponds
to the closer description of the same. When pronouncing the word
“Hölle” (hell) where the mouth has to be closed like a cave, you will
not fail to see the close connection between this muscular movement
and the description of hell, where by the way the word “Himmel”
(heaven) is pronounced with an upward glance and the word “Hölle”
(hell) with a downward glance - certainly never upward, and finally
“die Erde” (earth) by opening the mouth broadly and looking straight
ahead. Having discussed the first two, what remains to be scrutinized is
merely the last word broadly pronounced, with its spiritual
correspondence, and earth itself as your abode. The fact that in
pronouncing the word “Erde” (earth) the mouth has to be pulled
horizontally to the corners and the lips must move upward showing the
rows of white teeth, has a spiritual correspondence to the earth, where,
in a spiritual sense, what is softer, namely the flesh, is under restraint,
laying open for consideration the firmer, more compact parts – ethics,
or the teeth. Now look, My dear children, in the spiritual
correspondence the teeth, as firm, bonelike parts, signify the permanent
and first support, both in man and earth, giving a beautiful form to the
face and imparting the moral beauty to man’s whole exterior. As well,
this support creates the inner vitality of the body of the earth itself and
what is beautiful on its surface. The teeth amongst other things signify
also the moral-spiritual and are the first spiritual organ of digestion,
which in worldly life should sift the good from the bad. And as in the
mouth the salt in the digestive juice of the saliva is added after the
crushing of the food through the teeth, correspondingly the salt is the
enticement always to act contrary to the good, and it is your main task
to resist this temptation and finally be the victor.
Here on this earth you receive everything mixed, the good with the
bad, love with hatred, life with death; that is, both easily change their
role with each other, or, in other words, each changes easily into its counter-pole. If you have enough strength to eliminate the wicked and
bad, then evil, no matter how often it assails you, cannot leave a
permanent impression in your soul and will completely disappear in the
beyond, and only what is good will be your actual worth! The fact that
when pronouncing the word “Erde” (earth) you have to open your
mouth wide horizontally, means in correspondence that in a spiritual
respect your earth – albeit physically small – reaches far beyond all
solar galaxies, even as far as My heavens, for this little planet became
firstly the abode of My children, and secondly also Mine, where,
through suffering and death, I became the victor over evil.
If you were a little more familiar with this spirit-language, you
would in every word referring to Me discover the important and far
greater spiritual meaning and not be satisfied with the comprehension
of the word – the bark, so to speak, but feel more joy and bliss at its
inner contents than you could ever have imagined. Then you would
find amongst other things that each people according to its spiritual
level will reveal itself in the words and expressions relating to Me, or
do you think that the languages were invented, as your linguists believe
they can prove? Oh, there you are badly mistaken! The words were not
always made simultaneously with the invented objects and new
requirements of a people, but the language – being a spiritual product –
has always progressed parallel with the spiritual perception of a people.
You can see for yourselves from the history of the nations that with the
spiritual progress or regression of a nation its language likewise
progressed or regressed and with the cessation of a nation also its
language (as a living thing) has utterly ceased.
Language is the expression of the soul. The more exalted and
beautiful the language, the greater the intensity of its expressions.
However, this can only be appreciated by spirits, or those enlightened
by My love and grace, who discover behind the various movements of
the muscles of the mouth and larynx, among the twittering, clicking,
trilling and whistling sounds which in this and that combination form
one or the other word, a higher, spiritual meaning which has become
for you incomprehensible like the hieroglyphs – of a lost Paradise.
Thus the earth is also in this different from many other worlds.
Whereas in these only one language prevails and all created beings pursue one and the same path, there are on earth thousands of different
languages, as offshoots of a single one. And in this way the dweller on
this earth, in addition to many tests of his patience and perseverance, is
also burdened with this task, namely, that when he wants to
communicate with the brothers of other nations, he must learn their
language in order to convey his thoughts and feelings to them; or, if he
wants to learn something from his foreign brother, or tell him
something, he must make himself understood in that language.
Wherever you look on earth, beginning with the most primitive
peoples up to you civilized nations, you see the small earth with its
restless spirits spread itself beyond everything known. Of course, the
main motivation with the crowd is always self-seeking. However, in
this way the nations are brought together, they come to know each
other and learn to appreciate and love each other.
Those who investigate nature, the stars, the inside and surface of
the earth, impart their knowledge about the thing which out of My
grace I let the individual find, as common knowledge to mankind.
Without realizing it, they carry out only My plans, not theirs, and so I
educate the souls of this earth, which was once for a short time also My
abode, to a better life.
Now the thoughts of people race with the speed of lightning from
one pole to the other and they themselves roll on iron roads like a
hurricane from one place to another.
The roads are made from iron and the majority of those traveling
on them also have a heart of iron (at least for their human brothers).
But this is immaterial; My plans are nevertheless more advanced
through the fast communication existing between towns and villages,
and the getting together of the people dwelling there, than all the
builders and owners of railroads believe.
Here I have often mixed together in one carnage - heaven, hell and
earth, or spiritually good, bad or materially thinking people. On
entering they all had their own opinion; on leaving, hell has perhaps
extracted from heaven and earth a permanent spark of knowledge by
way of conversation, which throughout life will not be forgotten. Thus I carry out My plans, utilizing also this traveling together,
and where formerly rigid rules separated people, there I make them
forget their prejudices. And even though self-seeking, the urge for
enjoyment and greed for money are the motivating force why people
come together, travel to other countries exposing themselves to all
sorts of danger, I still have achieved My purpose, namely that of
fraternization. Now it only needs one more mighty push and spiritual
impulse and the people stand there like brothers, united in the desire to
follow Me, the Eternal Shepherd. Then the spiritual significance of the
earth is achieved, then is the time when I shall again come personally
among you, after the stubborn have been removed and only the willing
are left.
Thus, My dear children, you see how heaven, hell and earth, be it
in great or in small things, must serve only the purpose of love, the
fundamental idea of My creation.
However, do not count it by years what I have just told you, for
with Me there is no time. I know neither day nor night by which to
measure time; with Me there is always day, and the sun of love always
shines, and will shine, for all until all will have found the road to Me,
their most loving, benevolent Father.
Now I think that you, too, can be satisfied with this supplement. It
is another light in the great valleys of My creation. Consider well how
much love and grace I bestow on you and that I offer you so much
spiritual bread so that you may no longer doubt that everything you see
is from the Father’s hand!
This for your comfort with My blessing! Amen.
submitted by cineva01 to u/cineva01 [link] [comments]
for their explanation. Well, I gave you these three
significant words: heaven, hell and earth. Now we will see
what can be extracted from these three words that may be
elevating, edifying and instructive for you, as well as for
mankind as a whole.
The first of the three words signifies the greatest, so that even you,
when saying it, must raise your voice and lend greater tension to your
vocal cords, if you want to pronounce this word in the manner it
deserves to be pronounced.
Do you know what you really utter when pronouncing this word?
No, you do not know it but can only surmise; for look, “Heaven” is and
signifies the highest abode, as dwelling of the highest spirits, and also
My more permanent abode. Heaven is the sum total of all beatitudes,
where all the spirits in the purest light, without faults, striving only for
My sublime personal attributes, lead a life of bliss which here you
cannot ever understand and hardly ever imagine.
There are certainly in these places various degrees of perfection.
Indeed, the process of perfecting never ceases since I, continually
creating something new, allow new spheres of action to develop.
Issuing from heaven, all the life-sparks out of Me travel via My
greatest angel spirits to the lowest strata where only a spark of Myself
dimly glimmers, encased in heavy matter. In the heavens, which lie far
beyond all the shell globes and materially created solar systems, eternal
peace and eternal love are radiating and, since the first fundamental
principle of the sublime spiritual life is to imitate My attributes and out
of love for Me to fulfill My commands and wishes, the highest bliss is
reigning there.
In the highest heavens, where eternal harmony of the spirits
prevails, there are also simplicity, humility and neighborly love in their
highest perfection, the expression of which I Myself Am. There I have arranged My abode, as it should be in accordance
with My thoughts and wishes in the whole of creation and as it will be
after countless eons, when all that is lost spiritually, having found
itself, and purified by trials, through conflicts will have found its way
back to Me.
Once this is the case, all the worlds, as I have once said, will be
transformed. For then they all have as schools of trial and purification
fulfilled their purpose and accomplished everything. Of course, for
higher spiritual beings they must then be differently arranged and
equipped with greater radiance, splendor and beatitudes, so that these
very same purified spirits will find new material for their further
perfection, their higher spiritual maturity. For infinite is space, infinite
are the grades of perfection, and infinite Am I Myself – as the supreme
All in all!
This spiritual heaven, where eternal, mild light of grace out of
Me flows into all spirits, where the purest harmonies breathe into
the spiritual ears and hearts the greatest longing for Me, is the
quintessence of My unlimited love, expressed in sounds, colors
and words.
There, all live in all, and every one is only happy in the happiness
of another!
The greatest exaltation, be it in prayer, in poetry or in song, of
which you human beings on this earth are capable and which, as you
express it, “carries you to the highest heavens, affording you a foretaste
of a better existence – there in My heavens it is the lowest degree of
bliss, and that as a permanent, not a transient sensation.
I cannot explain and even less make you feel what a spirit feels
there. For you could not bear it in your earthly body and everything on
this earth would fill you with disgust, if you could retain in your
memory but one second of such bliss. This again I tell you only to
encourage you so that you may understand what beatitudes await the
sorely tried as reward for his perseverance and his love for Me.
As I am telling you here of the highest heavens where day does not
alternate with night, cold with warmth or life with death, where an ven, permanent, eternal sea of light surrounds the blissful spirits,
lighting up everything around them, there everything created on other
worlds is in turn displayed spiritually. For instance, you see a flower
whose color delights your eye, whose scent pleases your nerves, but
you do not know its spiritual meaning, its spiritual substance, the
Spiritual flowing up and down in its tiny tubules or veins, all
emanations of a higher nature, beginning with the sun whose light is
the mother of these floral colors and scents, up to the highest and most
refined potencies.
You see, this flower is also found in My heavens, as spiritual
reflection of all that is created. If you could see this flower there – its
form only light, its color only radiance, and its scent in the highest
spiritual correspondence an eternal hymn of praise to its Creator!
Only there would you understand what spiritual contemplation
means, and only then realize how dull your senses are in this world.
However, do not worry about this state of your senses while on this
earth; remember, only the wise hand of your most loving Father has
arranged it so, and although you do not, and cannot ever, wholly
understand His aims, they are always based on the highest wisdom and
love, and there must be grave reasons for the fact that all this bliss will
be yours only after long conflicts and periods of time, and even then
not for all, but only for some (according to their love).
My dear children, if I allowed you to enjoy all this at once (which I
reserve only for those who truly love Me and have striven in all earnest
to become My children), without conflict these inexpressibly great
beatitudes would be without great value and permanent attraction, for
they would not have been your own achievement but only a gift, so to
speak, without any effort on your part, and would only have half the
value and be of short duration.
Only what is gained by effort is enjoyed in full measure, as a due
reward for merit!
What merit has a prince or king born as the son of a king once his
head is adorned by a crown? You can be assured it is of far less
importance to him than those of lesser rank believe. What is such a
hereditary monarch compared to a man who, having battled against all adversities both physical and spiritual, has finally reached his goal,
which he has never lost sight oil The latter is a spiritual giant, whereas
the other perhaps amounts to very little and is sometimes despite his
exalted station a mere non-entity.
For this reason, whosoever wants to become My child for whom I
have reserved the greatest bliss, must earn this name, and only then
will he bless all the sufferings and conflicts which led him to that
degree of bliss where he begins to have an inkling of the spirituality of
all existence and where, in the very fulfillment and performance of all
the duties of an angel, the higher bliss for a created spirit begins.
As I once said that every human being carries the whole universe
within him, he also carries, albeit on the smallest scale, this now
described heaven within.
With every good deed, with every victory gained over his passions,
a ray of light of this little love-heaven from the sphere of the spirit
penetrates into his heart. It is a transient beam, a foreknowledge, a
shouting of the soul for joy, but (alas) not permanent. It is only a
moment when the spirit shows man what he carries within, what will
one day be his, if he faithfully perseveres on the difficult roads of life.
The spirit of man leaves to the soul only a gentle after breeze of it,
nothing else. The ray from the heavens was only a warning call,
meaning:
“Do not waver, but endure! One day you will have for ever what
here only rushes past you with the speed of lightning!”
So do not despair, My children! Heaven is open to you! In order to
encourage you, I let you feel it sometimes, as far as your physical and
spiritual constitution allows. More you cannot bear; and if one of you
were capable of bearing more, in the midst of the other people he
would then be unhappy and instead of pursuing his course diligently he
would be overcome by weariness and despair. Therefore, remember
that I, your Father, in My wisdom have arranged everything in such a
way that My children can bear it and profit from it. Now let us turn to
hell. What I have told you about heaven, more or less the same you can
assume of hell, but – it goes without saying – in the opposite sense. I shall not tell you so much about hell, its organization and nature
because it gives Me no pleasure to think of it and it is of little benefit to
have it described in detail. Suffice it for you to know that it really
exists, and that for My and your disadvantage. However, in order to tell
you at least something about this contrast to My heavens, I will merely
hint at its existence, that is, also in several departments and gradations,
representing evil in various degrees, in their midst the residence of
Satan himself.
Satan, as personified evil, in contrast to Me, is the personification
of all passions, which are opposed to My attributes. Whereas I, for
instance, out of love endeavor to preserve everything, he wants to
destroy everything, out of hatred against everything created, firstly,
because it is created by Me and, secondly, simply because it is created.
If he had his way, he would continually create beings of every
kind, however, not in order to rejoice in their existence, but to rejoice
(satanically) in their destruction, then again, resuming the game, begin
to create anew.
His subordinate spirits who, created by Me as living beings,
became so dark that they only enjoy the darkness, just as My angels
enjoy the light, are according to the intensity of their wickedness closer
to, or further from, Satan and in various sections placed in and on the
earth. There they pursue their (devilish) pleasures, striving to emulate
their master as much as possible; and so it is their greatest pleasure
under all possible kinds of pretences to turn mankind from the good or
better path and onto their wide highway.
Since in them as well as in their master there is only a satanic love,
they take pleasure in planting the same also into the hearts of those
who are willing to listen to them.
There they do not neglect to describe to their victims the world and
its pleasures as agreeable as possible, to engender in them a taste for
cunning, deceit, lust and all low passions, thus making them ready to
be their worthy “brothers”.
You will ask Me: “But how can You, the Creator, allow such
mighty hordes of evil spirits and their master to continue to exist? Why do You not with one word of command destroy such beings who are so
opposed to the gentle drawing of Your love and Your divine attributes,
and besides – why did You banish them into and onto the earth of all
places, while millions of other earths and suns are orbiting around in
infinity, whose inhabitants can take to their roads of betterment and
purification unhindered, without being exposed to such torment? Why
is it only we, whom You call “Your children’, for whose sake You
came down to this small globe, where You suffered for their sake; why
are we the ones who are on the one hand the privileged, but on the
other hand the most severely tried and exposed to all seductions and
temptations?”
My dear children! This complaint made by you as people of this
your earth is, seen from your side, quite natural and I have to justify
Myself for it so that you, although it does not look like it, nevertheless
recognize that I Am always the most loving and benevolent Father,
have at all times arranged everything only for your benefit and shall
always conduct everything for the welfare of My children.
In an earlier (the preceding) word I have mentioned a fallen angel
who pulled along an uncountable number of other spirits in his fall. In
“The Household of God” I explained to you also that then all his soul
substance was taken from him, divided into particles and bound in
matter, and is now returning to Me gradually on the road of perfection;
furthermore, that all those born on this earth, except for spirits from
other worlds, who had been transplanted here in order to become My
children, are parts of the fallen one that also have to take the same road
as all spirits bound in matter.
I also said that this very same fallen angel spirit was banned to
where My plant nursery for My heavens is located, namely, into the
earth, and that he is there most active, in opposition to Me and My
ordinance.
Look, all this I have explained to you earlier, and also the “why” –
why the greatest temptations and dangers must be exactly where spirits
and souls have taken on the task of attaining to My Kingdom, carrying
right through hell and damnation the cross of suffering and love in My
honor and to shame My great adversary; and that despite all seductions and seeming comforts heaped upon his future pupils by Satan, so as to
ensnare them, while later making them pay for every pleasure and
every comfort with a thousand torments of hell, there are still souls on
this earth who defy all his temptations, turn their back on all his grand
promises, do not want to belong to him but solely to Me and amid
suffering and conflict hold high the banner of faith, humility and love!
When Satan apostatized from Me, I had to leave him and his
whole following their individual freedom, which every spirit needs so
that as a free spirit he may become worthy of Me.
The conversion to Me must occur from within and voluntarily, not
under coercion. For this very reason I must tolerate the behavior of this
My greatest adversary including his brood and let them do as they like,
as long as they do not interfere with My established order.
The fact that whatever they do, the result will always be the
opposite of what they originally had intended, is the triumph of the
good cause since also the evil, even the worst that creation has to show,
must and can only contribute towards its (and their) own betterment
and the furthering of what is good generally.
For this very reason Satan with his realm is banned to that place
where he has a chance to try everything possible to defend his lifetheory
against Mine. Indeed, he was even permitted to personally tempt
Me during My earthly sojourn, Me, who was not a created spirit, but
the Creator of all that is created (including himself). Since I did not
avoid him when he met Me as a man, exposed to all human passions,
he dared to tempt also the Most High, which was allowed him. But
with what result you know, namely, that he might gradually realize on
a great and on a small scale that all his effort is in vain and that through
so many eons he has been resisting in vain the One who had created
him and who, would he return today repenting, would receive him with
open arms like a “prodigal non”, as I have already told you in “The
Twelve Hours’, and that it will not happen all at once, but gradually
and with certainty.
When I said of My heavens that every human spirit carries
them within him on a small scale, thus also the germ of bell or the inclination to sin and act contrary to My order, or hell in miniature, is
in every man’s breast
It is there because virtue, without the recognition of its opposite,
vice, would not be a virtue, and love without the opposite, not love! If
darkness did not exist, you would not appreciate light, if it were not for
the freezing effect of cold, you could not understand the pleasant
feelings of the gradually entering warmth.
Therefore, where My “children-plant-nursery” is, there also had to
be the school of the overcoming and subduing of all passions!
What would life be without conflict? A monotonous passing of
periods of time, without an awareness of the coming of one and the
passing of another. Life would have no purpose, no spice!
Just as the salt in all your foods, in all herbs, metals, plants and
even in the air and in your stomachs because of the proper digestion
constitutes an important component, which incites to life and through
this incitement furthers the same, the salt of spiritual life is the
temptation, or the tendency to think and act differently from the way
one actually should. Through this very contrast or this incitement the
better part of your Self is strengthened and the physical and spiritual
life within you is sustained through this food, its continuance is assured
and the enjoyment of having attained to another, new degree of
perfection, and that through conflict and self-denial, whereas you
would not become aware of progress if you advanced without
obstacles.
When the sun in the morning sends its first rays over the pastures
of the earth, the whole living nature shouts with joy in answer. Every
being, each in its own way, twitters, coos and hums its hymn of praise
to the light and its Giver. Even the dewdrop attached to the leaf of a
moss plant, clothing itself with diamond brilliance, mirrors the great
hemisphere of light arched above it and in its radiance as it were
rejoices at the daylight returning after the darkness! – Why? Because
from one evening to the next morning the night, or darkness, had let all
living creatures feel the value of the light!
Thus it is also in a spiritual respect. The soul of a created being recognizes the sweet awareness of spiritual love, spiritual progress and
of a spiritual, higher soul-life only when it has come to know the
chasms and wrong paths threatening on its road of trial. Only after the
soul has advanced a small step does it take pleasure in the same and
renews all its strength for the attainment of the next. And so the
incentive, enjoyment and bliss are enhanced, not so much with the
better condition gained, but on account of the obstacles overcome.
You see, My children, what would all the heavens mean without
hell! And how much other beings in other suns and earths miss in bliss,
which is reserved only for My children, because the other beings in
other suns and worlds know only light and little or no darkness!
Do you still want to complain that hell is so close to you, even
within you? Or would you not rather, thanking Me, ask Me maybe for
more hell, so that you may be able to battle and suffer even more so as
to deserve in even greater measure to be called “My children”?
So set your minds at rest. I know what you need for your trialschool;
do not ask for more than what you are given by Me, and be
assured, you have enough with what My loving hand imposes on you;
where it more, it would be a punishing hand and this I, as your Father,
do not have!
Now I have shown you how even the totally evil, indeed, the most
evil in the whole of creation, with all its actions is still used and
exploited by Me for the benefit of all that lives and how Satan with his
henchmen, instead of harming Me, on the whole must contribute to the
greatest good. So let us now pass to your abode, “the earth”, as the
third, above mentioned word, so that there you may again see the love
and wise prudence of your Father in its whole glory. (Note by the
Translator: For the sake of clarity in the following paragraphs the
original German terms for “heaven”, “hell” and “earth” are retained,
with the English terms added in brackets). When pronouncing the word
“Himme1” (heaven), where you have to raise the pitch of your voice
while having to lower it when pronouncing “Hölle” (hell), you will
have noticed that each of these words requires a different movement of
the vocal muscles, and look, it is again different in the pronunciation of
the word “Erde” (earth), where you have to open your mouth wide (three different tones. The Ed.). Look, in the pronouncing of these
words in your language, including the movements of the vocal organ,
everything is arranged in such a way that spirits who are more familiar
than you are with the correspondence formulas of creation, find fully
expressed in the movements of the oral muscles what one or the other
pronounced word signifies. When pronouncing the word “Himmel”
(heaven) you have seen that the raising of the vocal pitch corresponds
to the closer description of the same. When pronouncing the word
“Hölle” (hell) where the mouth has to be closed like a cave, you will
not fail to see the close connection between this muscular movement
and the description of hell, where by the way the word “Himmel”
(heaven) is pronounced with an upward glance and the word “Hölle”
(hell) with a downward glance - certainly never upward, and finally
“die Erde” (earth) by opening the mouth broadly and looking straight
ahead. Having discussed the first two, what remains to be scrutinized is
merely the last word broadly pronounced, with its spiritual
correspondence, and earth itself as your abode. The fact that in
pronouncing the word “Erde” (earth) the mouth has to be pulled
horizontally to the corners and the lips must move upward showing the
rows of white teeth, has a spiritual correspondence to the earth, where,
in a spiritual sense, what is softer, namely the flesh, is under restraint,
laying open for consideration the firmer, more compact parts – ethics,
or the teeth. Now look, My dear children, in the spiritual
correspondence the teeth, as firm, bonelike parts, signify the permanent
and first support, both in man and earth, giving a beautiful form to the
face and imparting the moral beauty to man’s whole exterior. As well,
this support creates the inner vitality of the body of the earth itself and
what is beautiful on its surface. The teeth amongst other things signify
also the moral-spiritual and are the first spiritual organ of digestion,
which in worldly life should sift the good from the bad. And as in the
mouth the salt in the digestive juice of the saliva is added after the
crushing of the food through the teeth, correspondingly the salt is the
enticement always to act contrary to the good, and it is your main task
to resist this temptation and finally be the victor.
Here on this earth you receive everything mixed, the good with the
bad, love with hatred, life with death; that is, both easily change their
role with each other, or, in other words, each changes easily into its counter-pole. If you have enough strength to eliminate the wicked and
bad, then evil, no matter how often it assails you, cannot leave a
permanent impression in your soul and will completely disappear in the
beyond, and only what is good will be your actual worth! The fact that
when pronouncing the word “Erde” (earth) you have to open your
mouth wide horizontally, means in correspondence that in a spiritual
respect your earth – albeit physically small – reaches far beyond all
solar galaxies, even as far as My heavens, for this little planet became
firstly the abode of My children, and secondly also Mine, where,
through suffering and death, I became the victor over evil.
If you were a little more familiar with this spirit-language, you
would in every word referring to Me discover the important and far
greater spiritual meaning and not be satisfied with the comprehension
of the word – the bark, so to speak, but feel more joy and bliss at its
inner contents than you could ever have imagined. Then you would
find amongst other things that each people according to its spiritual
level will reveal itself in the words and expressions relating to Me, or
do you think that the languages were invented, as your linguists believe
they can prove? Oh, there you are badly mistaken! The words were not
always made simultaneously with the invented objects and new
requirements of a people, but the language – being a spiritual product –
has always progressed parallel with the spiritual perception of a people.
You can see for yourselves from the history of the nations that with the
spiritual progress or regression of a nation its language likewise
progressed or regressed and with the cessation of a nation also its
language (as a living thing) has utterly ceased.
Language is the expression of the soul. The more exalted and
beautiful the language, the greater the intensity of its expressions.
However, this can only be appreciated by spirits, or those enlightened
by My love and grace, who discover behind the various movements of
the muscles of the mouth and larynx, among the twittering, clicking,
trilling and whistling sounds which in this and that combination form
one or the other word, a higher, spiritual meaning which has become
for you incomprehensible like the hieroglyphs – of a lost Paradise.
Thus the earth is also in this different from many other worlds.
Whereas in these only one language prevails and all created beings pursue one and the same path, there are on earth thousands of different
languages, as offshoots of a single one. And in this way the dweller on
this earth, in addition to many tests of his patience and perseverance, is
also burdened with this task, namely, that when he wants to
communicate with the brothers of other nations, he must learn their
language in order to convey his thoughts and feelings to them; or, if he
wants to learn something from his foreign brother, or tell him
something, he must make himself understood in that language.
Wherever you look on earth, beginning with the most primitive
peoples up to you civilized nations, you see the small earth with its
restless spirits spread itself beyond everything known. Of course, the
main motivation with the crowd is always self-seeking. However, in
this way the nations are brought together, they come to know each
other and learn to appreciate and love each other.
Those who investigate nature, the stars, the inside and surface of
the earth, impart their knowledge about the thing which out of My
grace I let the individual find, as common knowledge to mankind.
Without realizing it, they carry out only My plans, not theirs, and so I
educate the souls of this earth, which was once for a short time also My
abode, to a better life.
Now the thoughts of people race with the speed of lightning from
one pole to the other and they themselves roll on iron roads like a
hurricane from one place to another.
The roads are made from iron and the majority of those traveling
on them also have a heart of iron (at least for their human brothers).
But this is immaterial; My plans are nevertheless more advanced
through the fast communication existing between towns and villages,
and the getting together of the people dwelling there, than all the
builders and owners of railroads believe.
Here I have often mixed together in one carnage - heaven, hell and
earth, or spiritually good, bad or materially thinking people. On
entering they all had their own opinion; on leaving, hell has perhaps
extracted from heaven and earth a permanent spark of knowledge by
way of conversation, which throughout life will not be forgotten. Thus I carry out My plans, utilizing also this traveling together,
and where formerly rigid rules separated people, there I make them
forget their prejudices. And even though self-seeking, the urge for
enjoyment and greed for money are the motivating force why people
come together, travel to other countries exposing themselves to all
sorts of danger, I still have achieved My purpose, namely that of
fraternization. Now it only needs one more mighty push and spiritual
impulse and the people stand there like brothers, united in the desire to
follow Me, the Eternal Shepherd. Then the spiritual significance of the
earth is achieved, then is the time when I shall again come personally
among you, after the stubborn have been removed and only the willing
are left.
Thus, My dear children, you see how heaven, hell and earth, be it
in great or in small things, must serve only the purpose of love, the
fundamental idea of My creation.
However, do not count it by years what I have just told you, for
with Me there is no time. I know neither day nor night by which to
measure time; with Me there is always day, and the sun of love always
shines, and will shine, for all until all will have found the road to Me,
their most loving, benevolent Father.
Now I think that you, too, can be satisfied with this supplement. It
is another light in the great valleys of My creation. Consider well how
much love and grace I bestow on you and that I offer you so much
spiritual bread so that you may no longer doubt that everything you see
is from the Father’s hand!
This for your comfort with My blessing! Amen.
2024.05.28 08:00 Aaron_Breiterman The Siege of Fort Ond
The following is a transcription of an audio cassette I discovered in my father's safe, shortly after he died. The tape has been transcribed for you here in its entirety, for my own sake.
Dad - Can you say that again?
Grandpa - Which part?
Dad - The date Dad, the recorder wasn't close enough. I wanna make sure we get everything.
Grandpa - Why is it so important that you get every last detail anyway?
Dad - Because that's what the doctor said, Dad. The more detail we get, the better he can help you.
Grandpa - Oh! is that right? He's gonna help me huh? How's he gonna do that exactly? Stuff some more magic pills down my pocket? Maybe sign me up for group therapy? Those are ALWAYS loads of fun!
Dad - No, I think he just wants to get a better understanding of -
Grandpa - He can't help me. Nobody can. Better psychiatrists have tried and failed. You wouldn't believe me anyway. There's no point.
Dad - Well, If nothing else it would help us and the doc to make better decisions regarding you. Look, I promise that I will listen to everything you have to say. I promise I’ll believe you ok?
Grandpa - Don't say that! You can't promise me something like that. It's a bullshit statement and you know it.
Dad - Alright fine. Fair enough. I promise that I will TRY to believe ok? I’ll … try. Look, forget about the doctor alright? I want to know what happened that night, ME. I want to know what you were doing in Norway. Why you can never get a damn good night's sleep, just tell me, please.
Grandpa - (Deep breath) …fine
February 20, 1943. That's when it all went down. The Axis Powers had been almost completely driven outta Africa, and the Soviets had effectively turned the tide of war in Eastern Europe. We Had the Nazis on the run, for the time being at least. They were vulnerable, sure, but they still had every capability of rebounding and kicking our asses. As such, the US was particularly interested in taking out any and all Axis weapons development programs.
Dad - Weapons development programs? What, like their tanks or the atomic bomb or -
Grandpa - Exactly. The Allies specifically targeted their hard water factories to cripple their production of the atomic bomb. But there were other targets. So-called “Wonder Weapon” projects scattered all over German-occupied territories. Manufacturing depots, chemical weapons labs, bioweapons research centers, etc. THAT'S what I was doing in Norway.
Dad - Where in Norway did they send you?
Grandpa - … Northern Norway. Far off the mainland lay an island with a Nazi outpost on it. Very little was known about the place at the time regarding its exact purpose and mission. According to our spies inland and the Norwegian rebels, the locals referred to it simply as “Fort Ond”. They said it was … a bad place. That the prisoners who were taken there were never seen again. That the waters bordering its shore were barren of all aquatic life and colder than even the most bone-chilling frostbite. Command didn’t give a shit about any of that though. Their only concern was 2 things. “Why is this installation so far from the German homeland? And “Why is it so far from mainland Norway? The conclusion they came to was that the Nazis had to be developing some sort of weapon there that they didn't wanna risk infecting a lot of people with.
Dad - So, they thought it was a chemical weapons plant?
Grandpa - No, they thought it was a bioweapons lab. Smallpox, anthrax you know that kinda stuff. We THOUGHT that's what they were doing there, but we didn't know for sure. That's where my unit came in, and where Operation Maelstrom was greenlit.
Dad - Maelstrom?
Grandpa - I didn't pick the damn name. Anyways, they wanted to keep the operation as covert as possible. Minimal manpower. One squad of British SAS, one squad of Canadian commandos, and last but not least, one squad of Army Rangers. Including yours truly.
Dad - Was the purpose of the mission just to gather intel or-
Grandpa - Our first priority was the eradication of the fort's inhabitants and the seizure of any relevant intel. However, we were also prepared for it to turn into a sabotage mission at a moment's notice. Leadership felt pretty confident about the bioweapons theory and didn't wanna take any chances with letting the stuff potentially get away, hence the limited manpower. The last thing we wanted was for the krauts to get spooked by a large invasion force and flee with any samples….
Dad - Dad? Are you ok?
Grandpa - Yeah, just gimme a second.
(The metallic opening sound of a lighter can be heard, along with the sizzling burning of paper)
Dad - Really? You gotta do that now huh?
Grandpa - What? Oh! I'm sorry, is the smoke gonna bother your little nose that much? Would you prefer I do it some other time?
Dad - I’d prefer you didn't fucking do it all! Though, In a way, it's oddly inspiring. A senior citizen, part of “The Greatest Generation” still puffing that shit all these years like it's of no consequence to his health.
Grandpa - Fuck the consequences. Can I continue now? Or is this gonna turn into an intervention? Cause if so, tell me now so I can save you the time and just leave the room and enjoy the rest of my smoke.
Dad - … please continue.
Grandpa - We were all flown to Iceland for our briefing. From the moment I arrived, I had my doubts about the operation. The sheer lack of intel we had to go off of regarding: fort size, manpower, and exact purpose just seemed odd to me. I remember thinking to myself “I hope this is enough men.''. When I did so I caught my friend Weathers looking around too. I could tell he was thinking the same thing. From there, we boarded a British destroyer that took us less than 10 miles from the island. We had to travel the remaining distance on our own in 2 PT boats. I remember just how cold it was that night. How we all subconsciously stood closer to each other than normal in a vain attempt to try to stay warm. Like a bunch of penguins, the lot of us. It was a half-hour ride to the island so we stayed like that for a while. Just hunkered up and tried to keep warm as much as we could while we waited for any sign of something. When we were about a mile from the island, we got that sign.
We saw it long before we ever got near the stuff. When we did, we all went silent and watched as we slowed down our boats to make a cautious approach. A thick fog had blanketed the sea around the coastline in all directions for about a half mile. It had a faint… red hue to it. Not a deep red, just faintly visible. It towered above us nearly 15 feet in the air like a tidal wave and seemingly stared us down. We slowly crept our boats up to it inch by inch until our bows were nearly kissing it. From there, a few of the Canadians on the adjacent boat got out some equipment and began probing the fog for any sign of toxins. We all sat there and waited for them to finish their work. As they did so I took notice of the absolute unnaturalness of it all. It made no movement towards, nor away from us. Yet it billowed and Contracted and breathed soothingly in place like you would expect a body of smoke to do. I remember distinctly thinking of it not as a wall, but more like a veil or a curtain. Hiding the island from us. A few minutes later the Canadians signaled over to our boat and gave Our commander, Captain Hawks the thumbs up. The fog wasn't toxic as far as they could tell. Given our mission though, we couldn't take any chances of it being a gas of some kind. Better safe than sorry. So we donned our gas masks and made sure our suits were nice and sealed up. I in particular had taken the liberty of duct taping around my gloves and boots to ensure it was airtight. Then, we started our boats back up and slowly sailed on into the unknown.
At first, I couldn't see anything. The fog was so thick it limited my visibility to just a few feet in front of me. And even less so in front of the boat. We couldn't have our lights on for fear of being spotted. When we were out in the open water this was fine of course. The moon and stars lit up the surrounding waters nicely for us. But now, there was little to no light penetrating the fog. we were engulfed in near-total darkness. So we just slowly inched our way forward as safely as we could. I just sat there and watched the red vapor hit and dance off my goggles while I searched for any sign of land. For a while, nobody said a word. We all just waited for what seemed like an eternity. The longer we pushed ahead, the tighter the grip on my rifle became as my nerves started up. Finally, One of the Brits broke the silence. I watched him tap the man in front of him and heard him whisper “Are we sure this is the right -'' his sentence was quickly interrupted. We had landed.
The entire boat shook wildly as a few of us lost our footing and had to grab the side walls to stay upright. As we did so, I looked around me and noticed the fog gradually growing thinner as we made our approach. Steadily, its opacity diminished. I could begin to see shapes through the veil. The crunching noises ceased a few seconds later and with them, so too did the fog from my line of sight. It was still there, but it was thinner and lower to the ground than it was over the open sea. It only came up to our knees from that point on. Which meant I could finally see our objective. The island. It was … a mess of scattered jagged rocks and hills. Caverns and towering cliffs that seemed to scatter in all directions. Like a porcupine made of stone. At its center, one giant hill stood out. I followed it from the base to the peak with my eyes and at its peak, there was a door. That was it. Not a trace of human life. No pathways, no trenches, no buildings of any kind. Nothing that would suggest any sort of operation was being undertaken on the island. There were a few guard towers of course. We knew at least that much from our aerial photos, but we had chosen our landing site specifically to be in a blind spot they wouldn't see us from. That was it though. Apart from the door that stuck out amidst the terrain looking utterly unnatural in the distance, there was not a sign of life. No buzzing of insects, no splashing of fish, no chirping of birds, even the wind itself seemed to bow before the island's authority and ceased completely. No life whatsoever. I thought back to when we first encountered the fog and just how right I was in my thought process. We truly had crossed a veil of some kind.
Captain Hawks, gave the hand signals. We all filed out and patrolled inland as fast as we could to a nearby cave. The Norwegians were waiting for us there.
Dad - The Norwegians? Were they the ones who gave you the fort's intel to begin with?
Grandpa - The very same. Adding them to our roster brought our total strike force to 35 men….
Dad - Dad?
Grandpa - …
Dad - it's ok Dad, take your time
Grandpa - (takes a deep breath) We headed into the cave and linked up with the Norwegians. Who sat steadfast in defensive positions. One of them stood up as soon as we breached the darkness of the cavern and swung his gun over in our direction, shouting at us to presumably lower our weapons, before quickly lowering his own back down and making a half-hearted apology attempt. Hawks was livid. He stormed over to the man and with one forceful strike of his fist he sent the poor Norwegian hurtling towards the ground. “You some kind of fucking moron kid? I was this close. THIS CLOSE to blowing your goddamn head off!” the commander of the Norwegians rushed over to stand between the two of them. “Please forgive us, sir! We've been on edge since we arrived a few hours ago! it was an honest mistake!” He helped his fallen soldier back to his feet and ordered him to the back of the cavern to tend to his face. Afterward, he and Hawks stared at each other for a few seconds in silence while we all just waited for one of them to speak. The leader of the Norwegians spoke first. “Something is wrong. Very wrong. Our intel is severely off.” He said. “None of the guard towers have occupants and we haven't seen a Nazi soldier patrolling the island for 3 days now. We've been spying on the island for weeks now as best we could. The entire time we did so soldiers were patrolling the shores, manning the towers, and watching the coastlines. But 3 days ago this… fog emerged. Obscured our vision and made it nearly impossible to see anything on the island. Since we arrived we've done multiple sweeps and scouting runs along the island's surface before your arrival. No one is here, American. Not a soul. It's like they just… vanished. At least, from the island's surface.” I looked back over at Mckinley who did the same. We exchanged confused looks at one another before looking back at the 2 leaders who were now talking too quietly to one another to hear. Finally, Hawks turned to face us and with a deep sigh said “We THINK the Nazis have locked themselves away within the fort's cave systems and interior. According to our good buddies here, the island's surface is safe. Let's hope they're right. Conduct final checks on all your equipment then form up by the cave entrance. We're going in.
We got into formation and made our way up the rough terrain to the door I spotted when we first landed. As far as we could tell, it was the only entrance to the interior of the fort. The ascent was nerve-racking. The cold, wet staircase that led up to the fort's entrance proved difficult to scale with all of my equipment. Which was made all the more dangerous of course, by the fog. With it clinging to around knee level on every surface of the island it made it damn near impossible to see where we were stepping. So we just slowly tip-toed our way up to the door as best we could. All the while nobody uttered a word. It was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat throbbing in my ears. Eventually, we reached the top of the stairs. The door itself was … monolithic.
Dad - Monolithic? What like ancient?
Grandpa - Oh yeah, stood nearly 9 feet tall and looked like it was made out of bronze or copper, I don't know. Some kind of faintly orange metal. It was covered in strange engravings that could only be described as hieroglyphic. They weren't of course, but that's the only comparison I've been able to find since that day. Believe me, I've tried. Looked through every damn book I could think of. Nothing comes close to the symbols and markings I saw engraved on that door. It was like a foreign language of some kind. It didn't look like it was written, or chipped away from the door by an expert's hand so much as it looked like it was slashed or cut. Like something had hacked away at it with claws or teeth to create the strange writing. It didn't look like a human's hand had done it. Looking up at the door, I felt like an explorer. Like I had found something lost to mankind for millennia and was rediscovering it. Only, I Didn't wanna be the person to discover this. At that moment I wasn't sure I wanted to be aware of this place's existence let alone have to open the damn thing and walk past it into god knows what. We readied our explosives, expecting to have to breach our way in. To our surprise, however, the wooden beam that was attached to the door lifted. The monolith opened slightly. And with it came the stench of utter, all-devouring Rot. like puss and spoiled milk, Bile, and sulfur all fused into one unholy concoction that assaulted my nostrils and instantly forced tears down my cheek. At first, I panicked. Believing my mask wasn't secured tight enough and I was inhaling a toxin of some kind, but when I looked up I saw all of my team members doing the same. Our masks were all working fine. We couldn't have all had a potential leak right? The smell was truly just that powerful.
The door had only given way and opened a tiny bit. Our frontman quickly had to ask for help as the door was too heavy to heave by himself. Four men, me included, pushed with all our might and then quickly ran out of the way as soon as the door was completely opened so the guys behind us could aim down the opening.
When they did, they didn't see much. Their flashlights shined straight into a wall that angled down and away from us. What lay before us was another staircase. Carved out of the very stone of the mountain itself. The fog clung lower to the ground past the doorway. Only coming up to about ankle height. but it still obscured the steps all the same as the walk up to that point. We stared down the doorway waiting for the order to advance. But Hawks said nothing. He just stood there with his gun trained ahead and his other hand held up, silently telling us to wait. I suspected he was listening. Waiting to hear any commotion from us opening the heavy door. For any sign of the enemy. There was none, however. Not a sound could be heard from down the staircase. Just like everywhere else so far. Goff leaned over to me and tapped me on the shoulder “Somethings not fucking right man” he whispered. I didn't respond. I didn't feel I needed to. Everyone was already thinking the same thing anyway. No point in vocalizing it. Especially not when I could visibly see what Hawks was thinking. I watched a chill run up his spine that shook his held-up hand and rifle slightly in place. I'd never seen him like that before. He steadied himself and with a low reassuring grunt, which was probably more for his benefit than ours, he gave the order. “File in.” so down we went.
We descended for about twenty feet. The staircase itself was dark but we could see light at the bottom. The sight of the light was a relief. Instantly I felt a tiny shred of my anxiety whither away as my instincts took hold and I readied myself for any Germans that might be waiting for us at the bottom. There were no Germans, however. None left anyway. None … alive. When I reached the bottom of the staircase, the scene laid out before me was like something you'd see at a crime scene. It was a big square room illuminated by a gas lantern in its center. The door directly ahead of us led to an opening in the floor with a ladder hooked to it, with 2 doorways on our left and right. Like a plus sign or a cross. Various crates and workstation desks laid toppled over and all faced the direction of the newly discovered staircase. Like sentry posts, they all faced towards the same point. Scattered throughout the room were the nazis. Half sunken into the fog and slightly obscured by it, draped over crates, leaning up against the walls, crumpled up like a soda can in the corner. There were at least a dozen of them. Their blood pooled beneath our feet but I could hardly notice it through the tinted fog. I took a step forward and That's when I heard the familiar jingling of empty bullet casings beneath my feet. Subsequently, bullet holes could be seen in nearly every square inch of the wall in front of us. “Jesus Christ!” Weathers shouted as he entered the room behind me, prompting Hawks to hold up his hand again signaling for him to shut up. “Whoever the fuck did this might still be here. Stay frosty” he muttered sternly to us. out “Fan out, check the rooms on our flanks'' He commanded via hand signals.
Half our men went to the room on the right while the remaining went left. I along with 3 others stood guard in the lit room and kept our guns trained on the Ladder ahead of us. As I knelt behind a crate to take a better defensive position, I noticed one of the Nazis was lying face down in a puddle of his own blood close to my right. I kept my rifle trained ahead as I slowly reached over and heaved on his shoulder forcing him to roll over onto his back. He had a look of utter terror frozen onto his face, with eyes wide open and mouth agape. He bore cuts, and large slash marks up his chest and torso which caused his entrails to expose themselves slightly. I looked around the room at the other men to verify and sure enough, the ones who weren't submerged in fog shared similar wounds of varying size and volume. “ what the fuck happened here?” I thought to myself. This thought was quickly overtaken by a doubly terrifying realization. I looked at the bullet holes directly ahead of me and thought “Whatever the hell happened here, I'm standing in the same place they were.”
After a few tense moments of sitting with that realization, the squad checking the right room emerged holding a few books and folders. They bore similar engravings to the ones seen on the door upon our arrival and were bound in leather so ancient, that it looked like the faintest breeze would disintegrate them if they weren't careful. They showed it to Hawks who took one of the books and began sifting through its pages. At first, he scanned the pages carefully, and thoroughly, but he quickly thereafter began to shuffle through them frantically and impatiently before reaching back and shoving it into his pack. “
Right about that time the squad from the left room emerged. A British soldier approached and said “Just more dead krauts sir. There's um… there's something. We found cages, big enough to fit a human in. There were bodies in them but… they weren't Ger-” “Civilians” The Norwegian team leader interrupted. “These fucking animals.” Hawks looked like he was getting ready to say something but he didn't get the chance. All conversations and thoughts were stopped when the sound of screaming could be heard down the ladder.
With one uniform motion, all remaining men turned their guns to face the same direction as I already was. We waited for what felt like an eternity. For a head to come bobbing up the opening in the floor. For the sound of footsteps. For any sign of the enemy. Nothing came. After about a minute or so Hawks gave the order. We were going down there...
I don't wanna do this anymore…
Dad - Dad, please. You can do it. Just take a second ok?
Grandpa - the smell Patrick…
Dad - What about it?
(My Grandpa can be heard taking a huge huff of his cigarette followed by loud coughing)
Grandpa - I can't get it outta my nose! It's been 60 goddamn years since then and I can't get it outta my nose! God! By the time we had reached the bottom, Goff had already vomited from it. I had to fucking cover him while he did it. Good thing I hadn't eaten anything before the briefing or else I would've too. When we reached the bottom. There was nobody. Just like the rest of the island, not a sign of life.
Dad - Dad, what did you see at the bottom of the ladder?
Grandpa - … A well. It was a large cavern-like room with multiple passageways that branched off in all directions but at its center, was a well. Made out of the same stone as the mountain itself and yet, it somehow looked older. More ancient. More… monolithic. Along its rim… were the same damn etching and carvings as the door. Upon closer examination, we saw that It was the source of the fog that had plagued us since our arrival. We watched it for a while and observed The fog billowed up, out, and over the top of the well in all directions at a constant unnatural rate. I couldn't believe that such a tiny source could have produced as much as we'd seen up to that point. I couldn't believe that The colossal wall that we encountered upon our arrival originated from such a minuscule well deep in a mountain. As we spread out to cover the other passageways, I approached it and leaned over. Patrick… The smell was so fucking strong that I was thrown back onto my hands and knees almost immediately from the stomach contractions. It was the source of the fog … of the smell… everything.
Dad - What was in the well?
Grandpa - Blood. The whole fucking thing was filled with blood. More blood than I'd ever seen in my life. More than the room upstairs, more than any other mission I'd ever been on and it was fresh! It boiled gently and seemed to move on its own as though it were alive and aware of our presence in the room and when I gazed upon it, the attack on my nose and stomach seemed like one of calculation. As though a cobra had spat in my face for daring to get too close. I wasn't allowed even a second to recover from the stench, however. At that exact moment, we heard more screams. Seemingly, from every passageway in the cavern emitted what I can only describe as wails of anguish. Like the flesh was being peeled off somebody's forearm and pouring salt back into the wound at the same time. They pierced all of our ears like razor blades and made me wince so hard I almost forgot about my stomach pain. “How fucking big is this place?!” I thought to myself “What the hell could be happening just down one of these tunnels?”.
“Fuck this” Hawks said. “Start planting charges. We are getting the fuck out of this place as soon as possible.”
It was music to all of our ears. One of the soldiers came over to check on me as the rest began to start laying charges. There was nothing professional about our process. We were just laying them out as fast as we could so we could get the hell out of that wretched place and back to the boats. The screams continued the entire time we worked.
Dad - Were they getting closer?
Grandpa - I don't know. They sounded like they were coming from every passageway all at once but It was hard to tell. We had a man eyeing down every doorway just in case though. It didn't matter. We should've been watching the well! As I struggled to compose myself and get back to my feet I had a front-row seat to what was about to happen. Goff … the poor bastard. He was doing his rounds, laying his charges along the floor. Around the well. I wanted to speak up, to tell him not to get too close. But I was still sucking in air through my teeth and couldn't get the words out. All I could do was hold my hand out to him and grunt. He turned to face me. “You gonna make it?” was the last thing I heard him say. At that very moment. An arm shot out of the well behind him. Locked itself around his neck and pulled him into the well headfirst.
The arm was inhumanly long. More like a tentacle than an arm… but its form was undeniably human still! It wrapped itself around his neck and dug its fingers into the side of his face as it dragged him deeper and deeper down. I watched him thrash around and kick his legs wildly in a vain attempt to get free. Spraying torrents of blood in all directions around him. He was already halfway submerged by the time our men got a hold of his feet. When they did so, another arm shot out of the well and locked itself around Goff's waist now pulling him in faster. I could hear gurgling, and see bubbles of air making their way to the wells surface. The poor bastard was drowning in that putrid liquid! The men pulled with all their might but it didn't slow down his descension in any noticeable way. They heaved and barked orders to the others like rabid dogs. Desperate to save our comrade. But No help came. We were alone with the incomprehensible, and it was winning. The rest of us simply stood by dumbfounded and watched As he was forcibly dragged down the well inch by inch. When it was clear that the men could do nothing more they let go and took a few steps back. Their entire arms were covered in blood up to their elbows. For a moment. Nothing happened. Nobody said a word, moved a muscle, or did anything. We all just faced the well and tried our best to process what had just happened. It didn't last long. The well began to gurgle and bubble as though it were digesting my friend. It began to overflow. Slowly, the thick crimson liquid oozed over the top of the well and onto the cold stone floor beneath making its way towards us. I was the first to make a move. I stood up and began to slowly step backward towards the ladder. That's when the massacre began.
In an instant, all of Hell erupted around us. The same arms that had dragged my friend to a then-unknown fate sprang out of the walls around us as though the island were alive and began to frantically swing around searching for a body to claim. A few of them found their mark and pulled some of the men towards the walls. Wrapping themselves around their necks, locking them in place, and suffocating them. Any sense of composure our toughest men had remaining left their bodies that very moment, as we all made a mad dash sprint for the ladder. The room was only dimly lit by all of our flashlights though. When we broke our formation and began to run, our visibility became significantly more limited. Bodys ran into each other and men began slipping on the blood that had now reached all of our feet. The fog had also begun rising in intensity at a startling rate and was now almost as thick and copious as it was out on the sea. This made it all the more hard to tell what exactly was happening and before I knew it, I was knocked onto my ass by one of the Canadians as he ran straight into me. The blood rose higher and higher. At an inconceivably fast rate, it was halfway up to my knees by the time I regained my footing. When I did I felt a sudden rush of movement brush by my left leg. That's when I saw it. There were shapes moving in the blood! Large, serpentine-like shapes that slithered all around us and began to quickly encircle my team. Like sharks they enveloped us, poised for the kill. They seemed to be probing us for weakness, waiting for the exact right moment to strike and take as many of us down as they could. I wasn't gonna let them get me. My body moved independently of my paralyzed psyche as I sprinted for the ladder, and leaped as high as I could to escape the cavern. However, The ladder was barely wide enough to fit one man on it. It was Made of wood and was not meant to support the weight of more than a couple of men at a time. I remember just how carefully we had to scale it just to get down to the cursed room in the first place! I worried it was going to give way at any second and I would be stranded in that room with those things! With the well! I felt it crack and buckle beneath me as more men than intended all tried to climb it at once. I pushed into the man above me, just as the person below me did. All in a desperate race to escape. Just when I was sure all was lost and I would never make it out, I reached the top and rolled onto my back. As I did so I heard a loud snapping sound, followed by 8 loud splashes hitting the liquid beneath.
I rolled over and shined my flashlight down the hole to look at the scene and try to help some of the men escape what had now become a tomb. It was no use though. It was 20 feet down. I… I couldn't reach any of them. Weathers… McKinley, they stared up at me and shouted for help but what was I supposed to do? The blood had risen to about waist-high by that point and there were more of those fucking things still circling them! They climbed over one another in a desperate attempt to get enough height to reach the exit but it was nowhere near enough. I felt so helpless. I watched the mysterious shapes and figures in the blood creep up to them from behind. Then, As if coordinated, in an instant they pounced on and dragged 3 men under the murky depths all at once. In that split second when they had leapt from the blood to attack the men I caught only the faintest of glimpses of their true form. They were like eels, or … or leeches with spider legs and beaks. Something of that family but it's still not an accurate comparison. They were truly, otherworldly. Inhuman even to creation itself. They were abominations that I'm glad were obscured by the fog as, to have glanced upon them in all their unholyness would've been too much for me at that moment. They yanked the men down into the ocean of blood. As they did so the men thrashed around chaotically and knocked more men over making the already futile pyramid of terrified men all the more pitiful. That's when I noticed the three who were taken by those serpents were being dragged towards the well! They were being dragged to the well so it could devour them just like Goff and take them away to some unspeakable fate! I looked at the edges of the room to search for the first victims of the attack. The ones who had been forcibly dragged towards the walls by the arms. When I found them I felt my stomach churn once again. Their bodies were halfway into the cavern walls! The arms were dragging the men headfirst into the island itself to be consumed! It was as though the island itself was alive! The well was alive And it wanted us dead! The remaining few screamed and pleaded and begged me to help them. All I could do was stare down at the chaos before me and watch.
I was ripped out of my comatose state by a firm hand on my shoulder. It was Hawks.
“Get up! We gotta get the fuck out of here!”
He picked me up by the back of my shirt and dragged me to my feet pushing me up the staircase. I had no activity coursing through my head and yet I ran. My body was truly on autopilot. I couldn't think of anything other than the men we were leaving behind and the look I saw on their faces as they screamed at me for help. The fog had now completely engulfed the inside of the fort and I struggled to maintain my footing as I ran as fast as I could through the first chamber and up the staircase. As we exited the main door I was stopped dead in my tracks. I heard gunshots behind me. By god… They were still alive! They were still fighting to get out and I was abandoning them! Hawks once again yanked the back of my shirt forward as he walked past me.
“There's nothing we can do for them! We have to get to the boats now!” and with that, he ran off ahead of me through the red smoke. Every fiber of my being compelled me to go back but my body refused to obey. I just stood there trembling, white knuckle grasping my rifle as I struggled to make a choice. After a few agonizing seconds of contemplation, I followed after Hawks and made my way to the boats. To freedom.
As we sped away from the island at top speed I was able to slowly creep back to the real world mentally and finally take note of my surroundings. It was me, Hawks, and 3 other British troops. Only 5 men had made it out. None of us said a word. We all just kept to ourselves and stared off into space doing our best to process what had happened to us. I looked back at Fort Ond one last time before it disappeared over the horizon. The fog had grown larger now. Redder. Hungrier.
When we got back to the destroyer we told command everything that we saw and what had happened. They didn't believe a word of it. I can't really say I blame them. We must've sounded insane to them. Showing up missing 30 men, covered head to toe in blood, Rambling about a mysterious well, our friends being dragged away to an unknown fate by strange creatures, Ancient bronze doors, and slaughtered nazi soldiers. They told us that we had most likely been exposed to a nerve agent. That the base was being classified as a possible chemical weapons lab and that when we inhaled the fog, maybe we were subjected to it and its hallucinogenic properties. But we were sealed up head to toe! We stood up for ourselves as best as we could. We all corroborated each other's stories and validated each other's testimonies. We swore up and down till we were blue in the face that the island was not what we thought it was. That our friends had been killed by an unknown force and that we had to destroy the fort. They just stared at us like we were a pack of lunatics. They had made up their mind about what had happened to us on that island. Any attempt made by any of us to set the record straight only served to make us look even more insane to them. I turned to one of the admirals and spoke up one last time. I had to know something before they turned us away.
“Please tell me you guys are gonna level that fucking place”
He stared at me for a few tense seconds before simply saying “We’ll handle it.”
And with that, it was over. All the remaining members of Operation Maelstrom were discharged the next day. Deemed “medically unfit” to continue service. Each of us was briefed individually on the events of that night and I was told not to utter a word to anyone about the events of Operation Maelstrom, or to disclose the fort's location to anybody. The Colonel who was briefing me told me “For the record, I believe there's at least a little truth in what you told us. But regardless, you and the survivors are a liability now. Unstable and erratic. We can't risk putting any of you onto another operation, not after what happened to you. Or at least, not after what you think happened to you. I'm sorry but this is for your own good.” I was put on a plane the next day and sent home.
that's it…
You don't believe a word of what I just said, do you?
Dad - Well… no, not all of it. I mean, I want to but it's a little much to proc-
Grandpa - I know how it sounds! You think I don't hear myself saying this shit to you? I know how it must sound! But it's the truth, son. The well is real! What happened to me… was real.
Dad - I'm sure it must've felt that way, Dad. But you gotta-
Grandpa - YOU DON'T BELIEVE A FUCKING WORD OF IT! Nobody does. You, the doctor, and every other person I've confided in just think I'm some fucking lunatic who imagined all this. I see the way you're looking at me! Like I'm just some poor old man who's losing his mind! I KNOW WHAT I SAW! I KNOW WHAT I WENT THROUGH! You weren't there.
Dad - I know I wasn't! I'm not saying I was Dad but c'mon. Work with me. Isn't it possible it WAS a nerve agent or something? How the hell would you know it wasn't?
Grandpa - BECAUSE WE ALL SAW THE SAME DAMN THING! All of the survivors of Maelstrom gave the exact same testimony upon our return! Everything from our encounter with the fog to our return to the ship was synced up perfectly! What? Do you think we all hallucinated the exact same thing?
Dad - No! I just think that maybe-
You know, They took the books that Captain Hawks acquired. Oh yeah! They made sure we kept nothing from our mission. Stripped us bare right after we returned to ship but He told me what he saw in those pages! More of those Strange symbols! Those hieroglyphics of unknown origin. The mention of a “Tor zur Hölle”. Some kind of fucking portal to hell, or somewhere worse, or god knows where! You wanna know why I can't sleep at night, Patrick? The real reason? It's because I know it's still there! “Well handle it”.Yeah like hell they did! They probably just set up shop themselves and tried finishing what the krauts started. Or maybe not. Maybe they heard our warnings and listened to us. Maybe they shelled the place into oblivion and actually did handle it. But I'll never know son. I'll never get my closure on the events that happened that night. I'll never get to know with 100% certainty that the well has been sealed and that whatever lies in the depths of Fort Ond can't get me anymore.
Dad - Let's just take some deep breaths ok? Why don't we just calm down and -
Grandpa - This was a waste of time. It always is with you people.
Dad - Dad, please!
Grandpa - We're done here! turn that damn thing off and get-
The tape ends there. I couldn't find any additional tapes in my fathers' belongings. So, for the time being, that's where the story ends too. I didn't know my grandfather too well. He died when I was 12 and was a recluse so sadly, this tape is one of the only glimpses I've ever gotten into his life. I don't know what to believe. It’s easy to write him off as crazy or the victim of a gas attack. But The fear I heard on that tape sounded so real. That's gotta mean something right? If nothing else, the torment he endured was real. And Maybe, that's all that matters. Or maybe, just maybe… he’s right. Maybe Fort Ond still stands. Exactly as he described. Hidden somewhere, behind the veil of fog.
submitted by Aaron_Breiterman to TheDarkGathering [link] [comments]
Dad - Can you say that again?
Grandpa - Which part?
Dad - The date Dad, the recorder wasn't close enough. I wanna make sure we get everything.
Grandpa - Why is it so important that you get every last detail anyway?
Dad - Because that's what the doctor said, Dad. The more detail we get, the better he can help you.
Grandpa - Oh! is that right? He's gonna help me huh? How's he gonna do that exactly? Stuff some more magic pills down my pocket? Maybe sign me up for group therapy? Those are ALWAYS loads of fun!
Dad - No, I think he just wants to get a better understanding of -
Grandpa - He can't help me. Nobody can. Better psychiatrists have tried and failed. You wouldn't believe me anyway. There's no point.
Dad - Well, If nothing else it would help us and the doc to make better decisions regarding you. Look, I promise that I will listen to everything you have to say. I promise I’ll believe you ok?
Grandpa - Don't say that! You can't promise me something like that. It's a bullshit statement and you know it.
Dad - Alright fine. Fair enough. I promise that I will TRY to believe ok? I’ll … try. Look, forget about the doctor alright? I want to know what happened that night, ME. I want to know what you were doing in Norway. Why you can never get a damn good night's sleep, just tell me, please.
Grandpa - (Deep breath) …fine
February 20, 1943. That's when it all went down. The Axis Powers had been almost completely driven outta Africa, and the Soviets had effectively turned the tide of war in Eastern Europe. We Had the Nazis on the run, for the time being at least. They were vulnerable, sure, but they still had every capability of rebounding and kicking our asses. As such, the US was particularly interested in taking out any and all Axis weapons development programs.
Dad - Weapons development programs? What, like their tanks or the atomic bomb or -
Grandpa - Exactly. The Allies specifically targeted their hard water factories to cripple their production of the atomic bomb. But there were other targets. So-called “Wonder Weapon” projects scattered all over German-occupied territories. Manufacturing depots, chemical weapons labs, bioweapons research centers, etc. THAT'S what I was doing in Norway.
Dad - Where in Norway did they send you?
Grandpa - … Northern Norway. Far off the mainland lay an island with a Nazi outpost on it. Very little was known about the place at the time regarding its exact purpose and mission. According to our spies inland and the Norwegian rebels, the locals referred to it simply as “Fort Ond”. They said it was … a bad place. That the prisoners who were taken there were never seen again. That the waters bordering its shore were barren of all aquatic life and colder than even the most bone-chilling frostbite. Command didn’t give a shit about any of that though. Their only concern was 2 things. “Why is this installation so far from the German homeland? And “Why is it so far from mainland Norway? The conclusion they came to was that the Nazis had to be developing some sort of weapon there that they didn't wanna risk infecting a lot of people with.
Dad - So, they thought it was a chemical weapons plant?
Grandpa - No, they thought it was a bioweapons lab. Smallpox, anthrax you know that kinda stuff. We THOUGHT that's what they were doing there, but we didn't know for sure. That's where my unit came in, and where Operation Maelstrom was greenlit.
Dad - Maelstrom?
Grandpa - I didn't pick the damn name. Anyways, they wanted to keep the operation as covert as possible. Minimal manpower. One squad of British SAS, one squad of Canadian commandos, and last but not least, one squad of Army Rangers. Including yours truly.
Dad - Was the purpose of the mission just to gather intel or-
Grandpa - Our first priority was the eradication of the fort's inhabitants and the seizure of any relevant intel. However, we were also prepared for it to turn into a sabotage mission at a moment's notice. Leadership felt pretty confident about the bioweapons theory and didn't wanna take any chances with letting the stuff potentially get away, hence the limited manpower. The last thing we wanted was for the krauts to get spooked by a large invasion force and flee with any samples….
Dad - Dad? Are you ok?
Grandpa - Yeah, just gimme a second.
(The metallic opening sound of a lighter can be heard, along with the sizzling burning of paper)
Dad - Really? You gotta do that now huh?
Grandpa - What? Oh! I'm sorry, is the smoke gonna bother your little nose that much? Would you prefer I do it some other time?
Dad - I’d prefer you didn't fucking do it all! Though, In a way, it's oddly inspiring. A senior citizen, part of “The Greatest Generation” still puffing that shit all these years like it's of no consequence to his health.
Grandpa - Fuck the consequences. Can I continue now? Or is this gonna turn into an intervention? Cause if so, tell me now so I can save you the time and just leave the room and enjoy the rest of my smoke.
Dad - … please continue.
Grandpa - We were all flown to Iceland for our briefing. From the moment I arrived, I had my doubts about the operation. The sheer lack of intel we had to go off of regarding: fort size, manpower, and exact purpose just seemed odd to me. I remember thinking to myself “I hope this is enough men.''. When I did so I caught my friend Weathers looking around too. I could tell he was thinking the same thing. From there, we boarded a British destroyer that took us less than 10 miles from the island. We had to travel the remaining distance on our own in 2 PT boats. I remember just how cold it was that night. How we all subconsciously stood closer to each other than normal in a vain attempt to try to stay warm. Like a bunch of penguins, the lot of us. It was a half-hour ride to the island so we stayed like that for a while. Just hunkered up and tried to keep warm as much as we could while we waited for any sign of something. When we were about a mile from the island, we got that sign.
We saw it long before we ever got near the stuff. When we did, we all went silent and watched as we slowed down our boats to make a cautious approach. A thick fog had blanketed the sea around the coastline in all directions for about a half mile. It had a faint… red hue to it. Not a deep red, just faintly visible. It towered above us nearly 15 feet in the air like a tidal wave and seemingly stared us down. We slowly crept our boats up to it inch by inch until our bows were nearly kissing it. From there, a few of the Canadians on the adjacent boat got out some equipment and began probing the fog for any sign of toxins. We all sat there and waited for them to finish their work. As they did so I took notice of the absolute unnaturalness of it all. It made no movement towards, nor away from us. Yet it billowed and Contracted and breathed soothingly in place like you would expect a body of smoke to do. I remember distinctly thinking of it not as a wall, but more like a veil or a curtain. Hiding the island from us. A few minutes later the Canadians signaled over to our boat and gave Our commander, Captain Hawks the thumbs up. The fog wasn't toxic as far as they could tell. Given our mission though, we couldn't take any chances of it being a gas of some kind. Better safe than sorry. So we donned our gas masks and made sure our suits were nice and sealed up. I in particular had taken the liberty of duct taping around my gloves and boots to ensure it was airtight. Then, we started our boats back up and slowly sailed on into the unknown.
At first, I couldn't see anything. The fog was so thick it limited my visibility to just a few feet in front of me. And even less so in front of the boat. We couldn't have our lights on for fear of being spotted. When we were out in the open water this was fine of course. The moon and stars lit up the surrounding waters nicely for us. But now, there was little to no light penetrating the fog. we were engulfed in near-total darkness. So we just slowly inched our way forward as safely as we could. I just sat there and watched the red vapor hit and dance off my goggles while I searched for any sign of land. For a while, nobody said a word. We all just waited for what seemed like an eternity. The longer we pushed ahead, the tighter the grip on my rifle became as my nerves started up. Finally, One of the Brits broke the silence. I watched him tap the man in front of him and heard him whisper “Are we sure this is the right -'' his sentence was quickly interrupted. We had landed.
The entire boat shook wildly as a few of us lost our footing and had to grab the side walls to stay upright. As we did so, I looked around me and noticed the fog gradually growing thinner as we made our approach. Steadily, its opacity diminished. I could begin to see shapes through the veil. The crunching noises ceased a few seconds later and with them, so too did the fog from my line of sight. It was still there, but it was thinner and lower to the ground than it was over the open sea. It only came up to our knees from that point on. Which meant I could finally see our objective. The island. It was … a mess of scattered jagged rocks and hills. Caverns and towering cliffs that seemed to scatter in all directions. Like a porcupine made of stone. At its center, one giant hill stood out. I followed it from the base to the peak with my eyes and at its peak, there was a door. That was it. Not a trace of human life. No pathways, no trenches, no buildings of any kind. Nothing that would suggest any sort of operation was being undertaken on the island. There were a few guard towers of course. We knew at least that much from our aerial photos, but we had chosen our landing site specifically to be in a blind spot they wouldn't see us from. That was it though. Apart from the door that stuck out amidst the terrain looking utterly unnatural in the distance, there was not a sign of life. No buzzing of insects, no splashing of fish, no chirping of birds, even the wind itself seemed to bow before the island's authority and ceased completely. No life whatsoever. I thought back to when we first encountered the fog and just how right I was in my thought process. We truly had crossed a veil of some kind.
Captain Hawks, gave the hand signals. We all filed out and patrolled inland as fast as we could to a nearby cave. The Norwegians were waiting for us there.
Dad - The Norwegians? Were they the ones who gave you the fort's intel to begin with?
Grandpa - The very same. Adding them to our roster brought our total strike force to 35 men….
Dad - Dad?
Grandpa - …
Dad - it's ok Dad, take your time
Grandpa - (takes a deep breath) We headed into the cave and linked up with the Norwegians. Who sat steadfast in defensive positions. One of them stood up as soon as we breached the darkness of the cavern and swung his gun over in our direction, shouting at us to presumably lower our weapons, before quickly lowering his own back down and making a half-hearted apology attempt. Hawks was livid. He stormed over to the man and with one forceful strike of his fist he sent the poor Norwegian hurtling towards the ground. “You some kind of fucking moron kid? I was this close. THIS CLOSE to blowing your goddamn head off!” the commander of the Norwegians rushed over to stand between the two of them. “Please forgive us, sir! We've been on edge since we arrived a few hours ago! it was an honest mistake!” He helped his fallen soldier back to his feet and ordered him to the back of the cavern to tend to his face. Afterward, he and Hawks stared at each other for a few seconds in silence while we all just waited for one of them to speak. The leader of the Norwegians spoke first. “Something is wrong. Very wrong. Our intel is severely off.” He said. “None of the guard towers have occupants and we haven't seen a Nazi soldier patrolling the island for 3 days now. We've been spying on the island for weeks now as best we could. The entire time we did so soldiers were patrolling the shores, manning the towers, and watching the coastlines. But 3 days ago this… fog emerged. Obscured our vision and made it nearly impossible to see anything on the island. Since we arrived we've done multiple sweeps and scouting runs along the island's surface before your arrival. No one is here, American. Not a soul. It's like they just… vanished. At least, from the island's surface.” I looked back over at Mckinley who did the same. We exchanged confused looks at one another before looking back at the 2 leaders who were now talking too quietly to one another to hear. Finally, Hawks turned to face us and with a deep sigh said “We THINK the Nazis have locked themselves away within the fort's cave systems and interior. According to our good buddies here, the island's surface is safe. Let's hope they're right. Conduct final checks on all your equipment then form up by the cave entrance. We're going in.
We got into formation and made our way up the rough terrain to the door I spotted when we first landed. As far as we could tell, it was the only entrance to the interior of the fort. The ascent was nerve-racking. The cold, wet staircase that led up to the fort's entrance proved difficult to scale with all of my equipment. Which was made all the more dangerous of course, by the fog. With it clinging to around knee level on every surface of the island it made it damn near impossible to see where we were stepping. So we just slowly tip-toed our way up to the door as best we could. All the while nobody uttered a word. It was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat throbbing in my ears. Eventually, we reached the top of the stairs. The door itself was … monolithic.
Dad - Monolithic? What like ancient?
Grandpa - Oh yeah, stood nearly 9 feet tall and looked like it was made out of bronze or copper, I don't know. Some kind of faintly orange metal. It was covered in strange engravings that could only be described as hieroglyphic. They weren't of course, but that's the only comparison I've been able to find since that day. Believe me, I've tried. Looked through every damn book I could think of. Nothing comes close to the symbols and markings I saw engraved on that door. It was like a foreign language of some kind. It didn't look like it was written, or chipped away from the door by an expert's hand so much as it looked like it was slashed or cut. Like something had hacked away at it with claws or teeth to create the strange writing. It didn't look like a human's hand had done it. Looking up at the door, I felt like an explorer. Like I had found something lost to mankind for millennia and was rediscovering it. Only, I Didn't wanna be the person to discover this. At that moment I wasn't sure I wanted to be aware of this place's existence let alone have to open the damn thing and walk past it into god knows what. We readied our explosives, expecting to have to breach our way in. To our surprise, however, the wooden beam that was attached to the door lifted. The monolith opened slightly. And with it came the stench of utter, all-devouring Rot. like puss and spoiled milk, Bile, and sulfur all fused into one unholy concoction that assaulted my nostrils and instantly forced tears down my cheek. At first, I panicked. Believing my mask wasn't secured tight enough and I was inhaling a toxin of some kind, but when I looked up I saw all of my team members doing the same. Our masks were all working fine. We couldn't have all had a potential leak right? The smell was truly just that powerful.
The door had only given way and opened a tiny bit. Our frontman quickly had to ask for help as the door was too heavy to heave by himself. Four men, me included, pushed with all our might and then quickly ran out of the way as soon as the door was completely opened so the guys behind us could aim down the opening.
When they did, they didn't see much. Their flashlights shined straight into a wall that angled down and away from us. What lay before us was another staircase. Carved out of the very stone of the mountain itself. The fog clung lower to the ground past the doorway. Only coming up to about ankle height. but it still obscured the steps all the same as the walk up to that point. We stared down the doorway waiting for the order to advance. But Hawks said nothing. He just stood there with his gun trained ahead and his other hand held up, silently telling us to wait. I suspected he was listening. Waiting to hear any commotion from us opening the heavy door. For any sign of the enemy. There was none, however. Not a sound could be heard from down the staircase. Just like everywhere else so far. Goff leaned over to me and tapped me on the shoulder “Somethings not fucking right man” he whispered. I didn't respond. I didn't feel I needed to. Everyone was already thinking the same thing anyway. No point in vocalizing it. Especially not when I could visibly see what Hawks was thinking. I watched a chill run up his spine that shook his held-up hand and rifle slightly in place. I'd never seen him like that before. He steadied himself and with a low reassuring grunt, which was probably more for his benefit than ours, he gave the order. “File in.” so down we went.
We descended for about twenty feet. The staircase itself was dark but we could see light at the bottom. The sight of the light was a relief. Instantly I felt a tiny shred of my anxiety whither away as my instincts took hold and I readied myself for any Germans that might be waiting for us at the bottom. There were no Germans, however. None left anyway. None … alive. When I reached the bottom of the staircase, the scene laid out before me was like something you'd see at a crime scene. It was a big square room illuminated by a gas lantern in its center. The door directly ahead of us led to an opening in the floor with a ladder hooked to it, with 2 doorways on our left and right. Like a plus sign or a cross. Various crates and workstation desks laid toppled over and all faced the direction of the newly discovered staircase. Like sentry posts, they all faced towards the same point. Scattered throughout the room were the nazis. Half sunken into the fog and slightly obscured by it, draped over crates, leaning up against the walls, crumpled up like a soda can in the corner. There were at least a dozen of them. Their blood pooled beneath our feet but I could hardly notice it through the tinted fog. I took a step forward and That's when I heard the familiar jingling of empty bullet casings beneath my feet. Subsequently, bullet holes could be seen in nearly every square inch of the wall in front of us. “Jesus Christ!” Weathers shouted as he entered the room behind me, prompting Hawks to hold up his hand again signaling for him to shut up. “Whoever the fuck did this might still be here. Stay frosty” he muttered sternly to us. out “Fan out, check the rooms on our flanks'' He commanded via hand signals.
Half our men went to the room on the right while the remaining went left. I along with 3 others stood guard in the lit room and kept our guns trained on the Ladder ahead of us. As I knelt behind a crate to take a better defensive position, I noticed one of the Nazis was lying face down in a puddle of his own blood close to my right. I kept my rifle trained ahead as I slowly reached over and heaved on his shoulder forcing him to roll over onto his back. He had a look of utter terror frozen onto his face, with eyes wide open and mouth agape. He bore cuts, and large slash marks up his chest and torso which caused his entrails to expose themselves slightly. I looked around the room at the other men to verify and sure enough, the ones who weren't submerged in fog shared similar wounds of varying size and volume. “ what the fuck happened here?” I thought to myself. This thought was quickly overtaken by a doubly terrifying realization. I looked at the bullet holes directly ahead of me and thought “Whatever the hell happened here, I'm standing in the same place they were.”
After a few tense moments of sitting with that realization, the squad checking the right room emerged holding a few books and folders. They bore similar engravings to the ones seen on the door upon our arrival and were bound in leather so ancient, that it looked like the faintest breeze would disintegrate them if they weren't careful. They showed it to Hawks who took one of the books and began sifting through its pages. At first, he scanned the pages carefully, and thoroughly, but he quickly thereafter began to shuffle through them frantically and impatiently before reaching back and shoving it into his pack. “
Right about that time the squad from the left room emerged. A British soldier approached and said “Just more dead krauts sir. There's um… there's something. We found cages, big enough to fit a human in. There were bodies in them but… they weren't Ger-” “Civilians” The Norwegian team leader interrupted. “These fucking animals.” Hawks looked like he was getting ready to say something but he didn't get the chance. All conversations and thoughts were stopped when the sound of screaming could be heard down the ladder.
With one uniform motion, all remaining men turned their guns to face the same direction as I already was. We waited for what felt like an eternity. For a head to come bobbing up the opening in the floor. For the sound of footsteps. For any sign of the enemy. Nothing came. After about a minute or so Hawks gave the order. We were going down there...
I don't wanna do this anymore…
Dad - Dad, please. You can do it. Just take a second ok?
Grandpa - the smell Patrick…
Dad - What about it?
(My Grandpa can be heard taking a huge huff of his cigarette followed by loud coughing)
Grandpa - I can't get it outta my nose! It's been 60 goddamn years since then and I can't get it outta my nose! God! By the time we had reached the bottom, Goff had already vomited from it. I had to fucking cover him while he did it. Good thing I hadn't eaten anything before the briefing or else I would've too. When we reached the bottom. There was nobody. Just like the rest of the island, not a sign of life.
Dad - Dad, what did you see at the bottom of the ladder?
Grandpa - … A well. It was a large cavern-like room with multiple passageways that branched off in all directions but at its center, was a well. Made out of the same stone as the mountain itself and yet, it somehow looked older. More ancient. More… monolithic. Along its rim… were the same damn etching and carvings as the door. Upon closer examination, we saw that It was the source of the fog that had plagued us since our arrival. We watched it for a while and observed The fog billowed up, out, and over the top of the well in all directions at a constant unnatural rate. I couldn't believe that such a tiny source could have produced as much as we'd seen up to that point. I couldn't believe that The colossal wall that we encountered upon our arrival originated from such a minuscule well deep in a mountain. As we spread out to cover the other passageways, I approached it and leaned over. Patrick… The smell was so fucking strong that I was thrown back onto my hands and knees almost immediately from the stomach contractions. It was the source of the fog … of the smell… everything.
Dad - What was in the well?
Grandpa - Blood. The whole fucking thing was filled with blood. More blood than I'd ever seen in my life. More than the room upstairs, more than any other mission I'd ever been on and it was fresh! It boiled gently and seemed to move on its own as though it were alive and aware of our presence in the room and when I gazed upon it, the attack on my nose and stomach seemed like one of calculation. As though a cobra had spat in my face for daring to get too close. I wasn't allowed even a second to recover from the stench, however. At that exact moment, we heard more screams. Seemingly, from every passageway in the cavern emitted what I can only describe as wails of anguish. Like the flesh was being peeled off somebody's forearm and pouring salt back into the wound at the same time. They pierced all of our ears like razor blades and made me wince so hard I almost forgot about my stomach pain. “How fucking big is this place?!” I thought to myself “What the hell could be happening just down one of these tunnels?”.
“Fuck this” Hawks said. “Start planting charges. We are getting the fuck out of this place as soon as possible.”
It was music to all of our ears. One of the soldiers came over to check on me as the rest began to start laying charges. There was nothing professional about our process. We were just laying them out as fast as we could so we could get the hell out of that wretched place and back to the boats. The screams continued the entire time we worked.
Dad - Were they getting closer?
Grandpa - I don't know. They sounded like they were coming from every passageway all at once but It was hard to tell. We had a man eyeing down every doorway just in case though. It didn't matter. We should've been watching the well! As I struggled to compose myself and get back to my feet I had a front-row seat to what was about to happen. Goff … the poor bastard. He was doing his rounds, laying his charges along the floor. Around the well. I wanted to speak up, to tell him not to get too close. But I was still sucking in air through my teeth and couldn't get the words out. All I could do was hold my hand out to him and grunt. He turned to face me. “You gonna make it?” was the last thing I heard him say. At that very moment. An arm shot out of the well behind him. Locked itself around his neck and pulled him into the well headfirst.
The arm was inhumanly long. More like a tentacle than an arm… but its form was undeniably human still! It wrapped itself around his neck and dug its fingers into the side of his face as it dragged him deeper and deeper down. I watched him thrash around and kick his legs wildly in a vain attempt to get free. Spraying torrents of blood in all directions around him. He was already halfway submerged by the time our men got a hold of his feet. When they did so, another arm shot out of the well and locked itself around Goff's waist now pulling him in faster. I could hear gurgling, and see bubbles of air making their way to the wells surface. The poor bastard was drowning in that putrid liquid! The men pulled with all their might but it didn't slow down his descension in any noticeable way. They heaved and barked orders to the others like rabid dogs. Desperate to save our comrade. But No help came. We were alone with the incomprehensible, and it was winning. The rest of us simply stood by dumbfounded and watched As he was forcibly dragged down the well inch by inch. When it was clear that the men could do nothing more they let go and took a few steps back. Their entire arms were covered in blood up to their elbows. For a moment. Nothing happened. Nobody said a word, moved a muscle, or did anything. We all just faced the well and tried our best to process what had just happened. It didn't last long. The well began to gurgle and bubble as though it were digesting my friend. It began to overflow. Slowly, the thick crimson liquid oozed over the top of the well and onto the cold stone floor beneath making its way towards us. I was the first to make a move. I stood up and began to slowly step backward towards the ladder. That's when the massacre began.
In an instant, all of Hell erupted around us. The same arms that had dragged my friend to a then-unknown fate sprang out of the walls around us as though the island were alive and began to frantically swing around searching for a body to claim. A few of them found their mark and pulled some of the men towards the walls. Wrapping themselves around their necks, locking them in place, and suffocating them. Any sense of composure our toughest men had remaining left their bodies that very moment, as we all made a mad dash sprint for the ladder. The room was only dimly lit by all of our flashlights though. When we broke our formation and began to run, our visibility became significantly more limited. Bodys ran into each other and men began slipping on the blood that had now reached all of our feet. The fog had also begun rising in intensity at a startling rate and was now almost as thick and copious as it was out on the sea. This made it all the more hard to tell what exactly was happening and before I knew it, I was knocked onto my ass by one of the Canadians as he ran straight into me. The blood rose higher and higher. At an inconceivably fast rate, it was halfway up to my knees by the time I regained my footing. When I did I felt a sudden rush of movement brush by my left leg. That's when I saw it. There were shapes moving in the blood! Large, serpentine-like shapes that slithered all around us and began to quickly encircle my team. Like sharks they enveloped us, poised for the kill. They seemed to be probing us for weakness, waiting for the exact right moment to strike and take as many of us down as they could. I wasn't gonna let them get me. My body moved independently of my paralyzed psyche as I sprinted for the ladder, and leaped as high as I could to escape the cavern. However, The ladder was barely wide enough to fit one man on it. It was Made of wood and was not meant to support the weight of more than a couple of men at a time. I remember just how carefully we had to scale it just to get down to the cursed room in the first place! I worried it was going to give way at any second and I would be stranded in that room with those things! With the well! I felt it crack and buckle beneath me as more men than intended all tried to climb it at once. I pushed into the man above me, just as the person below me did. All in a desperate race to escape. Just when I was sure all was lost and I would never make it out, I reached the top and rolled onto my back. As I did so I heard a loud snapping sound, followed by 8 loud splashes hitting the liquid beneath.
I rolled over and shined my flashlight down the hole to look at the scene and try to help some of the men escape what had now become a tomb. It was no use though. It was 20 feet down. I… I couldn't reach any of them. Weathers… McKinley, they stared up at me and shouted for help but what was I supposed to do? The blood had risen to about waist-high by that point and there were more of those fucking things still circling them! They climbed over one another in a desperate attempt to get enough height to reach the exit but it was nowhere near enough. I felt so helpless. I watched the mysterious shapes and figures in the blood creep up to them from behind. Then, As if coordinated, in an instant they pounced on and dragged 3 men under the murky depths all at once. In that split second when they had leapt from the blood to attack the men I caught only the faintest of glimpses of their true form. They were like eels, or … or leeches with spider legs and beaks. Something of that family but it's still not an accurate comparison. They were truly, otherworldly. Inhuman even to creation itself. They were abominations that I'm glad were obscured by the fog as, to have glanced upon them in all their unholyness would've been too much for me at that moment. They yanked the men down into the ocean of blood. As they did so the men thrashed around chaotically and knocked more men over making the already futile pyramid of terrified men all the more pitiful. That's when I noticed the three who were taken by those serpents were being dragged towards the well! They were being dragged to the well so it could devour them just like Goff and take them away to some unspeakable fate! I looked at the edges of the room to search for the first victims of the attack. The ones who had been forcibly dragged towards the walls by the arms. When I found them I felt my stomach churn once again. Their bodies were halfway into the cavern walls! The arms were dragging the men headfirst into the island itself to be consumed! It was as though the island itself was alive! The well was alive And it wanted us dead! The remaining few screamed and pleaded and begged me to help them. All I could do was stare down at the chaos before me and watch.
I was ripped out of my comatose state by a firm hand on my shoulder. It was Hawks.
“Get up! We gotta get the fuck out of here!”
He picked me up by the back of my shirt and dragged me to my feet pushing me up the staircase. I had no activity coursing through my head and yet I ran. My body was truly on autopilot. I couldn't think of anything other than the men we were leaving behind and the look I saw on their faces as they screamed at me for help. The fog had now completely engulfed the inside of the fort and I struggled to maintain my footing as I ran as fast as I could through the first chamber and up the staircase. As we exited the main door I was stopped dead in my tracks. I heard gunshots behind me. By god… They were still alive! They were still fighting to get out and I was abandoning them! Hawks once again yanked the back of my shirt forward as he walked past me.
“There's nothing we can do for them! We have to get to the boats now!” and with that, he ran off ahead of me through the red smoke. Every fiber of my being compelled me to go back but my body refused to obey. I just stood there trembling, white knuckle grasping my rifle as I struggled to make a choice. After a few agonizing seconds of contemplation, I followed after Hawks and made my way to the boats. To freedom.
As we sped away from the island at top speed I was able to slowly creep back to the real world mentally and finally take note of my surroundings. It was me, Hawks, and 3 other British troops. Only 5 men had made it out. None of us said a word. We all just kept to ourselves and stared off into space doing our best to process what had happened to us. I looked back at Fort Ond one last time before it disappeared over the horizon. The fog had grown larger now. Redder. Hungrier.
When we got back to the destroyer we told command everything that we saw and what had happened. They didn't believe a word of it. I can't really say I blame them. We must've sounded insane to them. Showing up missing 30 men, covered head to toe in blood, Rambling about a mysterious well, our friends being dragged away to an unknown fate by strange creatures, Ancient bronze doors, and slaughtered nazi soldiers. They told us that we had most likely been exposed to a nerve agent. That the base was being classified as a possible chemical weapons lab and that when we inhaled the fog, maybe we were subjected to it and its hallucinogenic properties. But we were sealed up head to toe! We stood up for ourselves as best as we could. We all corroborated each other's stories and validated each other's testimonies. We swore up and down till we were blue in the face that the island was not what we thought it was. That our friends had been killed by an unknown force and that we had to destroy the fort. They just stared at us like we were a pack of lunatics. They had made up their mind about what had happened to us on that island. Any attempt made by any of us to set the record straight only served to make us look even more insane to them. I turned to one of the admirals and spoke up one last time. I had to know something before they turned us away.
“Please tell me you guys are gonna level that fucking place”
He stared at me for a few tense seconds before simply saying “We’ll handle it.”
And with that, it was over. All the remaining members of Operation Maelstrom were discharged the next day. Deemed “medically unfit” to continue service. Each of us was briefed individually on the events of that night and I was told not to utter a word to anyone about the events of Operation Maelstrom, or to disclose the fort's location to anybody. The Colonel who was briefing me told me “For the record, I believe there's at least a little truth in what you told us. But regardless, you and the survivors are a liability now. Unstable and erratic. We can't risk putting any of you onto another operation, not after what happened to you. Or at least, not after what you think happened to you. I'm sorry but this is for your own good.” I was put on a plane the next day and sent home.
that's it…
You don't believe a word of what I just said, do you?
Dad - Well… no, not all of it. I mean, I want to but it's a little much to proc-
Grandpa - I know how it sounds! You think I don't hear myself saying this shit to you? I know how it must sound! But it's the truth, son. The well is real! What happened to me… was real.
Dad - I'm sure it must've felt that way, Dad. But you gotta-
Grandpa - YOU DON'T BELIEVE A FUCKING WORD OF IT! Nobody does. You, the doctor, and every other person I've confided in just think I'm some fucking lunatic who imagined all this. I see the way you're looking at me! Like I'm just some poor old man who's losing his mind! I KNOW WHAT I SAW! I KNOW WHAT I WENT THROUGH! You weren't there.
Dad - I know I wasn't! I'm not saying I was Dad but c'mon. Work with me. Isn't it possible it WAS a nerve agent or something? How the hell would you know it wasn't?
Grandpa - BECAUSE WE ALL SAW THE SAME DAMN THING! All of the survivors of Maelstrom gave the exact same testimony upon our return! Everything from our encounter with the fog to our return to the ship was synced up perfectly! What? Do you think we all hallucinated the exact same thing?
Dad - No! I just think that maybe-
You know, They took the books that Captain Hawks acquired. Oh yeah! They made sure we kept nothing from our mission. Stripped us bare right after we returned to ship but He told me what he saw in those pages! More of those Strange symbols! Those hieroglyphics of unknown origin. The mention of a “Tor zur Hölle”. Some kind of fucking portal to hell, or somewhere worse, or god knows where! You wanna know why I can't sleep at night, Patrick? The real reason? It's because I know it's still there! “Well handle it”.Yeah like hell they did! They probably just set up shop themselves and tried finishing what the krauts started. Or maybe not. Maybe they heard our warnings and listened to us. Maybe they shelled the place into oblivion and actually did handle it. But I'll never know son. I'll never get my closure on the events that happened that night. I'll never get to know with 100% certainty that the well has been sealed and that whatever lies in the depths of Fort Ond can't get me anymore.
Dad - Let's just take some deep breaths ok? Why don't we just calm down and -
Grandpa - This was a waste of time. It always is with you people.
Dad - Dad, please!
Grandpa - We're done here! turn that damn thing off and get-
The tape ends there. I couldn't find any additional tapes in my fathers' belongings. So, for the time being, that's where the story ends too. I didn't know my grandfather too well. He died when I was 12 and was a recluse so sadly, this tape is one of the only glimpses I've ever gotten into his life. I don't know what to believe. It’s easy to write him off as crazy or the victim of a gas attack. But The fear I heard on that tape sounded so real. That's gotta mean something right? If nothing else, the torment he endured was real. And Maybe, that's all that matters. Or maybe, just maybe… he’s right. Maybe Fort Ond still stands. Exactly as he described. Hidden somewhere, behind the veil of fog.
2024.05.28 06:10 TheCJK Bubba Yaga 4
First
The twins held the large platter made of reclaimed fnga armor in front of Mother Darknest. The large female ate greedily, pulling meat up into her mandibles. Sliplegs held a similar platter for his sisters to feast, and Pusdot held the one for his wives.
The females ate until their abdomens swelled. Mother Darknest tilted back, waving the remainder away. The twins took it to the far corner and began eating the leftover chunks. The territory queen looked out over her immediate family as they feasted. She waited until Stormsky and Tightclasp got their fill and watched as her son took their platter away. "Pusdot, set it down and come here."
The young father did as told and approached her, bowing low, eyes darkened in submission.
"You've made us full, made us proud again."
He raised his hands, palms up. "Thank you my mother."
She looked out over her family. "I have something to confess my brood."
Eyes turned up toward her and the feeding slowed to a stop.
She turned her four eyes around the room, noting their attention. "Before today, before this feast, I had lost hope." She focused down on Pusdot. "This witch beast of yours, I thought it was a curse. Our males were dying, coming back maim. Our women were having to hunt for themselves. Several cousins left, banding together to take territory for themselves, away from these cursed trees. My sister sent word they were slain, eaten by the Quicklimbs to the north."
She paused, staring at her son. "My sister. Her sons lost, her husband left with only two hands. Our clans haven't met since I was young, our waters cut apart by your beast. We are surrounded on three sides, and what I saw as a curse on our fourth." She paused. "But you, my son, you have turned a boon. You, my failure, my own curse staring at me, you have proven the greatest blessing in these, my last molts."
He raised his right hand, drawing scratches in the air. "You have many molts left Mother."
She chittered her teeth. "I think you may be right son." She leaned forward, smelling him. "You will prove yourself further my son. I have a new task for you."
"Ask it and it shall be done, or by my death."
She looked over at Sliplegs. "My nieces need a mate. Do you think your son would be capable?"
Pusdot turned an eye toward his son. "How many are they?"
"Five." Mother Darknest replied.
Sliplegs eyes darkened as he slumped down.
"That is a heavy burden Mother. I don't see him lasting long."
She shifted at the top of the stairs, looking around the woven sphere. "I see differently son." She hissed. "I see my throne full of meat, unable to be eaten. I see meat that could be sent to feed my starving sister, and I see a male who could be put to better work than feeding his sisters."
Pusdot lowered himself further.
"You will take him to my sister beyond your witch. They share our proximity to the monster. He will join you on your hunts, and the meat will be portioned between our clans."
He looked back over at his son. They widened their eyes at each other, knowing it must be done.
---===*===---
The quickest way to their aunt's nestlands was straight past Bubba's abode, and Pusdot led the way. He leapt from bough to bough, Sliplegs leaping easily behind him. They reached the tall scratch-poke tree they used to eye the human's domain and paused. Pusdot looked out, noting the human doing something upon the porch.
He shifted farther out on the branch, looking at the odd behavior.
The Witch Bubba had tool of metal in his hand, swinging it down upon something on the porch. He picked up what once was whole, and put the pieces in a tray upon his lap. Pusdot watched as he sorted through the broken bits before realizing what they were.
Sliplegs looked at his dad. "Is he touching Gost flesh?"
Pusdot leapt from the bough, landing hard on the tin roof, banging and rolling as he neared the edge. He caught himself before going over and leaned over. Bubba had stopped and was looking up at him.
"What are you trying to do you crazy ass?"
Pusdot didn't pause long before crawling down the porch post and leapt at his human friend. Bubba raised an arm up to stop him, but the spiderfolk dodged and grabbed the tray on his lap and flung it into the water.
Bubba looked out at the splash. "Woah, what the damn hell you doin?" He stood up and put a hand on Pusdot's shoulder, easing him back. "Back the fuck up bud."
Pusdot took a step back and noted the human now towering over him. "Are you in that much pain Bubba?"
Bubba stared at him for a moment. "What?"
The spiderfolk looked at the orb floating beside him. "The orb, is it working, do you know my words?"
Bubba nodded. "Yeah, I hear you, but I'm not understanding. You're throwing my stuff out, why?"
"Gost. The pain killer worms, what hurts you so much? There are other medicines we can try."
Bubba looked out at the water and then back toward Pusdot. "I'm not hurting buddy. I just wanted to see what you were talking about."
He turned his four eyes out toward the water and slowly shifted them back to the human. "You wanted to experiment with death?"
"Death? What? What the hell was I just mashing there?"
Pusdot stepped closer just as Sliplegs reached the edge of the roof. The young male looked over the edge. "Did he let one touch?"
Pusdot took Bubba's hands and looked them over. "You touch the worms from its flesh?"
"Yeah, touched a lot. Had about fifty of them piled up before you chucked em."
Pusdot pressed his palms and pinched his fingers. "Do you still feel?"
"Yeah, you're squeezing me."
Pusdot took a step back and slowly let go of his hands. "Gost worms. They take the pain away when old, help kill, ease a good death for an elder."
Bubba's eyes widened. "Holy shit. I almost lethal injected myself with worms. Holy fucking hell!" He turned, looking at his hands. "Woah. Thank you for knocking them."
Sliplegs crawled down the post and stood beside his father. "They touched his fingers?"
Pusdot widened his eyes. "Yes, but he's not numb."
"And he's still standing."
Bubba looked over at them. "What? Just touching them?"
Pusdot mimicked his nodding motion. "Poison around them. Seeps in and causes numbness quickly and death shortly after."
"So, what does that mean?"
The two spiderfolk looked at each other, darkening their eyes with a shake of confusion. Pusdot looked back at the human. "I do not know. Maybe it doesn't work on you."
Bubba sat down on the porch, then shifted to reach into the water and began scrubbing his hands. "Well, I'm thankful you stopped me. Man, I had no idea." Bubba heard a thump on the wooden slats and looked up. Pusdot was laying on the porch unmoving.
"Father. Father!" Sliplegs shouted, kneeling beside him.
Bubba got up quickly and looked around. He found a tarp bunched up beside the chairs and wrapped his hands in it. He moved quickly and picked up Pusdot with his wrapped hands and yelled. "Alexandra!"
His wife opened the door, groaning. "What is it."
"Get the scanner fired up."
She stepped out of the way as Bubba carried the limp spider person into the house. She looked at the young one outside and then back in at Bubba.
Bubba shouted again. "Fire it up woman!"
She snapped into the moment and ran across the living room. She touched a chest in the corner causing it to hiss open. She pulled out a large square plate and put it out on the floor beside her. She paused looking at it as Bubba watched.
"The remote in the bottom. Turn it on."
She nodded and pulled open a hatch on the plate, revealing the remote. She pulled it out and powered the device on. The plate immediately started expanding on the floor and a holographic doctor appeared.
The glowing green doctor stared at Bubba. "What is the nature of your emergency."
Bubba looked down at Pusdot, still breathing, but unmoving. "Poisoning."
The doctor motioned down to the plate on the floor. "Please place the patient upon the table."
Bubba looked at Alexandra. "I can't touch him. I got the shit on my hands. Pull him down onto it."
Alexandra nodded and eased the limp creature down.
The doctor knelt down, appearing to look Pusdot over. "This is an unknown species."
"Yeah, that's right, that's right." Bubba replied, pacing slightly.
The doctor continued staring as numerous drone balls emerged from the plate and crawled onto Pusdot's body. "Scanning. Mapping proteins. DNA processing." The doctor looked up at Bubba. Do you have any of the poison to analyze?"
Bubba dropped the tarp on the floor and held out his hands. "I tried washing it off, but there might be some left."
The doctor motioned for him to put his hands lower. Bubba obeyed and several metallic spheres rolled onto his fingers and began nipping at his skin. "Numerous unknown DNA specimens. Potential oil compound with conflicting properties to subject found. Running simulation." A circle appeared on the doctor's face as it processed.
Bubba looked over at Sliplegs. "I'm sorry son. I didn't know. I had no idea."
Sliplegs shifted his weight around his feet. "Is my father dead?"
The doctor blinked done and stood up. He turned toward the young male. "Your father has been knocked out and without immediate medical attention provided by myself, he would quit breathing in seven minutes." He turned and pointed at a metal orb that sprayed a mist into Pusdot's open mouth. "I have isolated the compound, deduced a counteragent, and administered. Your father should improve and be awake in five minutes."
Alexandra looked at the doctor and then down at Pusdot. "How you know all this?" She turned toward Bubba. "This kit is good. Where the hell you get him from?"
The glowing green doctor smiled. "Kit doctor 445, assigned Bermham outpost. I scanned local hardware for information and found your linguistical logs on this unknown species."
She looked over at Bubba. "Bermham outpost? How you got the town doctor in our kits?"
He smiled at her. "You know my debts?"
"Your gambling debts?"
He nodded. "Well, sometimes I win."
---===*===---
Pusdot woke up in the moving chair, a mug of Bubba's hooch sitting on the barrel beside him. "What happened?"
Sliplegs was sitting with his back against the porch post watching him. "Bubba had the Gost worm on his hands. You were affected from touching him."
Pusdot turned and noted the human moving back and forth beside him.
"Yup." Bubba said.
"Then, I'm dead?"
Sliplegs darkened his eyes and took a drink from his own mug. He looked up after swallowing. "No. Bubba Yaga summoned a spirit, it saved you. Had sphere bugs come from the ground."
Pusdot looked around, his eyes focusing. He saw the female watching from farther down the porch. "A spirit?"
Alexandra was focused on Bubba. "We shouldn't have that thing here. That's supposed to be in town, helping folk. How could you steal it?"
"I told you." Bubba pointed at her. "I won it fair and square. Aces. No cheats, everything above board. He acknowledged and handed it over his own free will. I didn't steal nothing."
"It wasn't his to bet. The town needs it, and you're going to give it back."
Bubba tried to stand and slumped back into the chair. He tried again and stood up, pointing over at the taller female. "He's the god damn mayor. He bet it, It's mine, and thankfully we had it or poor Pus here would be keeled over."
She turned and opened the door, pausing with her back toward him. "We're taking it back to town tomorrow. You're giving it back." She then stepped inside, letting the screen slam behind her.
Sliplegs focused on Bubba. "Thank you for saving him. The mothers would starve if he died."
Bubba reached his hand out toward Pusdot.
He looked it over.
"Don't worry. Doc cleaned it all off."
Pusdot eyed it for a moment and then took his hand. Bubba pulled, lifting the spider to his feet.
"I got something else you need to see." He turned and took a step down the porch before pausing. "Let me know before I screw up again."
---===*===---
Bubba walked them down his pier toward his boat docks. He knelt down and pointed into one of the empty slips. "You see all that moss growing there?"
Pusdot nodded. "Yes. The green grows all through the waters."
Bubba looked up at him. "Yup. It does, but it only flowers and fruits in certain places."
"Yeah. You used it to find the fnga."
Bubba stood up and looked down. "Yeah. I thought it was weird you didn't know. You guys are native and all."
"We know of the fruits. The ctanga thrive on them. Tall legs come and eat them at times also."
Bubba smiled. "Bingo. That's what I didn't know. It makes sense now."
Sliplegs looked down at the moss and then over at his father. "What does the Bubba talk about?"
Pusdot darkened his eyes and focused them on the human.
Bubba laughed. "That moss there." He pointed into the water. "I got one of older shells and threw them in, experimenting. That stuff grew up overnight, attached." He pointed at some nodes floating in the green slime. "See those things, I'm watching those. I think they're buds."
Pusdot knelt down looking. "Of the flowers?"
Bubba nodded. "I realized quick those assholes jump out from the flowers. After I killed my first I realized the strands with the flowers come off their backs. You all don't hunt them, so you didn't know right?"
Pusdot focused on him and widened his eyes. "We only ever find them in parts, old and washed up. The moss black and rotted on them."
"You mentioned some tall legged things?"
Sliplegs widened his eyes, showing a sliver of white. "They break our nets, jostle our homes. Annoying beasts come when it gets colder."
"Gators. I bet those tall legs come and nibble a fruit and the fnga snap up and drag them under."
Pusdot chittered his teeth. "You are truly a witch Bubba. I have seen such a thing! I did not understand how it all was woven together."
Sliplegs matched the chittering. "He knits with his mind father. The human can weave such thoughts!"
Bubba shook his head. "Naw. I dunno about that." He pointed back down. "You all eat those fruits?"
The spiderfolk's bodies shivered for a moment. Pusdot darkened his eyes. "Filth. Used only to disgrace."
Bubba looked back down at the moss. "Damn woman. I'm going to have to take that doctor back to town, else I'd use it to scan some when they get ripe. I didn't risk trying them, and for hell sure ain't after you passing out." He turned and looked at Pusdot. "What you doing tomorrow?"
Pusdot looked at his son and then over at the human. "Tomorrow? I will feed the wives, no different than any day."
"Well, you wanna stay the evening? I'll load you up with some out the freezer to take back and you can go with me tomorrow."
Pusdot lowered himself some. "My son, he is getting wives today. I must finish taking him to their nest."
Bubba smiled bigger than Pusdot had ever seen. "He's getting married! Holy matrimony! Wait, wives?" He looked at the smaller spiderfolk. "How many women you getting young buck?"
Sliplegs struggled with several of the words before replying. "Um, I am to have five females."
Bubba chuckled. "You lucky dog. Wow, guess they all are liking the meat we pulled in. Paid that dowry off!"
Pusdot stared at his son for a moment. "Friend Bubba Yaga. You misunderstand. This is not a joyous thing."
Bubba's face saddened. "What do you mean?"
Sliplegs stood up straighter. "I am to make the five mothers. They will be very hungry, and I will have to work until my body breaks to feed them."
Bubba thought for a moment and then looked at Pusdot. "And this, this is because of me? Because we fed them all?"
"Yes." The spider father replied. "You have caused many things to happen in the territories. Many die, many suffer."
Bubba took a long breath and then nodded to himself. "Yeah. I've pulled quite a few of you from my traps. You know that, I own it. Now this. I ain't having little buddy here struggling like that." He looked the two over. "How can I help?"
---===*===---
The boat purred as it slowed down near the base of the grove of bknot trees. Bubba stared up into the webbed boughs and met the gaze of a dozen tall spiderfolk. Pusdot and Sliplegs were bowing low with their eyes darkened and downturned behind him.
The tallest spiderfolk, standing in the center of the group spoke in their garble tongue. The orb was quick to translate. "What is this noise, this thing and beast with you? Are you captured by this monstrosity?"
Bubba shook his head, his hands out to his sides. "I am friend of Pusdot and young Sliplegs here." He said, the orb quick to translate, echoing through the hardened trees. "I am in debt to these two, and to repay them I have assisted them in providing dowry for Sliplegs wives."
The tall one widened her eyes and stepped to a lower bow, hands stretching out. "You offer yourself beast?"
Pusdot rose quickly, stepping up beside his human friend. "No Mother Silentcut. He is a friend of our nest. He has helped us kill fnga, and we have brought three sides to feast upon tonight. My son's wives will eat their fill as shall your tribe. Please, do not harm our friend."
Sliplegs, still cowering, pulled the tarp off the meat.
The large females in the trees immediately focused in on the display.
Mother Silentcut's eyes widened. "This has never been." She pulled her eyes away from the meat and looked Bubba over. "This is the witch beast is it not?"
"Bubba Yaga Ma'am." He replied. "Pleasure to meet you."
submitted by TheCJK to HFY [link] [comments]
The twins held the large platter made of reclaimed fnga armor in front of Mother Darknest. The large female ate greedily, pulling meat up into her mandibles. Sliplegs held a similar platter for his sisters to feast, and Pusdot held the one for his wives.
The females ate until their abdomens swelled. Mother Darknest tilted back, waving the remainder away. The twins took it to the far corner and began eating the leftover chunks. The territory queen looked out over her immediate family as they feasted. She waited until Stormsky and Tightclasp got their fill and watched as her son took their platter away. "Pusdot, set it down and come here."
The young father did as told and approached her, bowing low, eyes darkened in submission.
"You've made us full, made us proud again."
He raised his hands, palms up. "Thank you my mother."
She looked out over her family. "I have something to confess my brood."
Eyes turned up toward her and the feeding slowed to a stop.
She turned her four eyes around the room, noting their attention. "Before today, before this feast, I had lost hope." She focused down on Pusdot. "This witch beast of yours, I thought it was a curse. Our males were dying, coming back maim. Our women were having to hunt for themselves. Several cousins left, banding together to take territory for themselves, away from these cursed trees. My sister sent word they were slain, eaten by the Quicklimbs to the north."
She paused, staring at her son. "My sister. Her sons lost, her husband left with only two hands. Our clans haven't met since I was young, our waters cut apart by your beast. We are surrounded on three sides, and what I saw as a curse on our fourth." She paused. "But you, my son, you have turned a boon. You, my failure, my own curse staring at me, you have proven the greatest blessing in these, my last molts."
He raised his right hand, drawing scratches in the air. "You have many molts left Mother."
She chittered her teeth. "I think you may be right son." She leaned forward, smelling him. "You will prove yourself further my son. I have a new task for you."
"Ask it and it shall be done, or by my death."
She looked over at Sliplegs. "My nieces need a mate. Do you think your son would be capable?"
Pusdot turned an eye toward his son. "How many are they?"
"Five." Mother Darknest replied.
Sliplegs eyes darkened as he slumped down.
"That is a heavy burden Mother. I don't see him lasting long."
She shifted at the top of the stairs, looking around the woven sphere. "I see differently son." She hissed. "I see my throne full of meat, unable to be eaten. I see meat that could be sent to feed my starving sister, and I see a male who could be put to better work than feeding his sisters."
Pusdot lowered himself further.
"You will take him to my sister beyond your witch. They share our proximity to the monster. He will join you on your hunts, and the meat will be portioned between our clans."
He looked back over at his son. They widened their eyes at each other, knowing it must be done.
---===*===---
The quickest way to their aunt's nestlands was straight past Bubba's abode, and Pusdot led the way. He leapt from bough to bough, Sliplegs leaping easily behind him. They reached the tall scratch-poke tree they used to eye the human's domain and paused. Pusdot looked out, noting the human doing something upon the porch.
He shifted farther out on the branch, looking at the odd behavior.
The Witch Bubba had tool of metal in his hand, swinging it down upon something on the porch. He picked up what once was whole, and put the pieces in a tray upon his lap. Pusdot watched as he sorted through the broken bits before realizing what they were.
Sliplegs looked at his dad. "Is he touching Gost flesh?"
Pusdot leapt from the bough, landing hard on the tin roof, banging and rolling as he neared the edge. He caught himself before going over and leaned over. Bubba had stopped and was looking up at him.
"What are you trying to do you crazy ass?"
Pusdot didn't pause long before crawling down the porch post and leapt at his human friend. Bubba raised an arm up to stop him, but the spiderfolk dodged and grabbed the tray on his lap and flung it into the water.
Bubba looked out at the splash. "Woah, what the damn hell you doin?" He stood up and put a hand on Pusdot's shoulder, easing him back. "Back the fuck up bud."
Pusdot took a step back and noted the human now towering over him. "Are you in that much pain Bubba?"
Bubba stared at him for a moment. "What?"
The spiderfolk looked at the orb floating beside him. "The orb, is it working, do you know my words?"
Bubba nodded. "Yeah, I hear you, but I'm not understanding. You're throwing my stuff out, why?"
"Gost. The pain killer worms, what hurts you so much? There are other medicines we can try."
Bubba looked out at the water and then back toward Pusdot. "I'm not hurting buddy. I just wanted to see what you were talking about."
He turned his four eyes out toward the water and slowly shifted them back to the human. "You wanted to experiment with death?"
"Death? What? What the hell was I just mashing there?"
Pusdot stepped closer just as Sliplegs reached the edge of the roof. The young male looked over the edge. "Did he let one touch?"
Pusdot took Bubba's hands and looked them over. "You touch the worms from its flesh?"
"Yeah, touched a lot. Had about fifty of them piled up before you chucked em."
Pusdot pressed his palms and pinched his fingers. "Do you still feel?"
"Yeah, you're squeezing me."
Pusdot took a step back and slowly let go of his hands. "Gost worms. They take the pain away when old, help kill, ease a good death for an elder."
Bubba's eyes widened. "Holy shit. I almost lethal injected myself with worms. Holy fucking hell!" He turned, looking at his hands. "Woah. Thank you for knocking them."
Sliplegs crawled down the post and stood beside his father. "They touched his fingers?"
Pusdot widened his eyes. "Yes, but he's not numb."
"And he's still standing."
Bubba looked over at them. "What? Just touching them?"
Pusdot mimicked his nodding motion. "Poison around them. Seeps in and causes numbness quickly and death shortly after."
"So, what does that mean?"
The two spiderfolk looked at each other, darkening their eyes with a shake of confusion. Pusdot looked back at the human. "I do not know. Maybe it doesn't work on you."
Bubba sat down on the porch, then shifted to reach into the water and began scrubbing his hands. "Well, I'm thankful you stopped me. Man, I had no idea." Bubba heard a thump on the wooden slats and looked up. Pusdot was laying on the porch unmoving.
"Father. Father!" Sliplegs shouted, kneeling beside him.
Bubba got up quickly and looked around. He found a tarp bunched up beside the chairs and wrapped his hands in it. He moved quickly and picked up Pusdot with his wrapped hands and yelled. "Alexandra!"
His wife opened the door, groaning. "What is it."
"Get the scanner fired up."
She stepped out of the way as Bubba carried the limp spider person into the house. She looked at the young one outside and then back in at Bubba.
Bubba shouted again. "Fire it up woman!"
She snapped into the moment and ran across the living room. She touched a chest in the corner causing it to hiss open. She pulled out a large square plate and put it out on the floor beside her. She paused looking at it as Bubba watched.
"The remote in the bottom. Turn it on."
She nodded and pulled open a hatch on the plate, revealing the remote. She pulled it out and powered the device on. The plate immediately started expanding on the floor and a holographic doctor appeared.
The glowing green doctor stared at Bubba. "What is the nature of your emergency."
Bubba looked down at Pusdot, still breathing, but unmoving. "Poisoning."
The doctor motioned down to the plate on the floor. "Please place the patient upon the table."
Bubba looked at Alexandra. "I can't touch him. I got the shit on my hands. Pull him down onto it."
Alexandra nodded and eased the limp creature down.
The doctor knelt down, appearing to look Pusdot over. "This is an unknown species."
"Yeah, that's right, that's right." Bubba replied, pacing slightly.
The doctor continued staring as numerous drone balls emerged from the plate and crawled onto Pusdot's body. "Scanning. Mapping proteins. DNA processing." The doctor looked up at Bubba. Do you have any of the poison to analyze?"
Bubba dropped the tarp on the floor and held out his hands. "I tried washing it off, but there might be some left."
The doctor motioned for him to put his hands lower. Bubba obeyed and several metallic spheres rolled onto his fingers and began nipping at his skin. "Numerous unknown DNA specimens. Potential oil compound with conflicting properties to subject found. Running simulation." A circle appeared on the doctor's face as it processed.
Bubba looked over at Sliplegs. "I'm sorry son. I didn't know. I had no idea."
Sliplegs shifted his weight around his feet. "Is my father dead?"
The doctor blinked done and stood up. He turned toward the young male. "Your father has been knocked out and without immediate medical attention provided by myself, he would quit breathing in seven minutes." He turned and pointed at a metal orb that sprayed a mist into Pusdot's open mouth. "I have isolated the compound, deduced a counteragent, and administered. Your father should improve and be awake in five minutes."
Alexandra looked at the doctor and then down at Pusdot. "How you know all this?" She turned toward Bubba. "This kit is good. Where the hell you get him from?"
The glowing green doctor smiled. "Kit doctor 445, assigned Bermham outpost. I scanned local hardware for information and found your linguistical logs on this unknown species."
She looked over at Bubba. "Bermham outpost? How you got the town doctor in our kits?"
He smiled at her. "You know my debts?"
"Your gambling debts?"
He nodded. "Well, sometimes I win."
---===*===---
Pusdot woke up in the moving chair, a mug of Bubba's hooch sitting on the barrel beside him. "What happened?"
Sliplegs was sitting with his back against the porch post watching him. "Bubba had the Gost worm on his hands. You were affected from touching him."
Pusdot turned and noted the human moving back and forth beside him.
"Yup." Bubba said.
"Then, I'm dead?"
Sliplegs darkened his eyes and took a drink from his own mug. He looked up after swallowing. "No. Bubba Yaga summoned a spirit, it saved you. Had sphere bugs come from the ground."
Pusdot looked around, his eyes focusing. He saw the female watching from farther down the porch. "A spirit?"
Alexandra was focused on Bubba. "We shouldn't have that thing here. That's supposed to be in town, helping folk. How could you steal it?"
"I told you." Bubba pointed at her. "I won it fair and square. Aces. No cheats, everything above board. He acknowledged and handed it over his own free will. I didn't steal nothing."
"It wasn't his to bet. The town needs it, and you're going to give it back."
Bubba tried to stand and slumped back into the chair. He tried again and stood up, pointing over at the taller female. "He's the god damn mayor. He bet it, It's mine, and thankfully we had it or poor Pus here would be keeled over."
She turned and opened the door, pausing with her back toward him. "We're taking it back to town tomorrow. You're giving it back." She then stepped inside, letting the screen slam behind her.
Sliplegs focused on Bubba. "Thank you for saving him. The mothers would starve if he died."
Bubba reached his hand out toward Pusdot.
He looked it over.
"Don't worry. Doc cleaned it all off."
Pusdot eyed it for a moment and then took his hand. Bubba pulled, lifting the spider to his feet.
"I got something else you need to see." He turned and took a step down the porch before pausing. "Let me know before I screw up again."
---===*===---
Bubba walked them down his pier toward his boat docks. He knelt down and pointed into one of the empty slips. "You see all that moss growing there?"
Pusdot nodded. "Yes. The green grows all through the waters."
Bubba looked up at him. "Yup. It does, but it only flowers and fruits in certain places."
"Yeah. You used it to find the fnga."
Bubba stood up and looked down. "Yeah. I thought it was weird you didn't know. You guys are native and all."
"We know of the fruits. The ctanga thrive on them. Tall legs come and eat them at times also."
Bubba smiled. "Bingo. That's what I didn't know. It makes sense now."
Sliplegs looked down at the moss and then over at his father. "What does the Bubba talk about?"
Pusdot darkened his eyes and focused them on the human.
Bubba laughed. "That moss there." He pointed into the water. "I got one of older shells and threw them in, experimenting. That stuff grew up overnight, attached." He pointed at some nodes floating in the green slime. "See those things, I'm watching those. I think they're buds."
Pusdot knelt down looking. "Of the flowers?"
Bubba nodded. "I realized quick those assholes jump out from the flowers. After I killed my first I realized the strands with the flowers come off their backs. You all don't hunt them, so you didn't know right?"
Pusdot focused on him and widened his eyes. "We only ever find them in parts, old and washed up. The moss black and rotted on them."
"You mentioned some tall legged things?"
Sliplegs widened his eyes, showing a sliver of white. "They break our nets, jostle our homes. Annoying beasts come when it gets colder."
"Gators. I bet those tall legs come and nibble a fruit and the fnga snap up and drag them under."
Pusdot chittered his teeth. "You are truly a witch Bubba. I have seen such a thing! I did not understand how it all was woven together."
Sliplegs matched the chittering. "He knits with his mind father. The human can weave such thoughts!"
Bubba shook his head. "Naw. I dunno about that." He pointed back down. "You all eat those fruits?"
The spiderfolk's bodies shivered for a moment. Pusdot darkened his eyes. "Filth. Used only to disgrace."
Bubba looked back down at the moss. "Damn woman. I'm going to have to take that doctor back to town, else I'd use it to scan some when they get ripe. I didn't risk trying them, and for hell sure ain't after you passing out." He turned and looked at Pusdot. "What you doing tomorrow?"
Pusdot looked at his son and then over at the human. "Tomorrow? I will feed the wives, no different than any day."
"Well, you wanna stay the evening? I'll load you up with some out the freezer to take back and you can go with me tomorrow."
Pusdot lowered himself some. "My son, he is getting wives today. I must finish taking him to their nest."
Bubba smiled bigger than Pusdot had ever seen. "He's getting married! Holy matrimony! Wait, wives?" He looked at the smaller spiderfolk. "How many women you getting young buck?"
Sliplegs struggled with several of the words before replying. "Um, I am to have five females."
Bubba chuckled. "You lucky dog. Wow, guess they all are liking the meat we pulled in. Paid that dowry off!"
Pusdot stared at his son for a moment. "Friend Bubba Yaga. You misunderstand. This is not a joyous thing."
Bubba's face saddened. "What do you mean?"
Sliplegs stood up straighter. "I am to make the five mothers. They will be very hungry, and I will have to work until my body breaks to feed them."
Bubba thought for a moment and then looked at Pusdot. "And this, this is because of me? Because we fed them all?"
"Yes." The spider father replied. "You have caused many things to happen in the territories. Many die, many suffer."
Bubba took a long breath and then nodded to himself. "Yeah. I've pulled quite a few of you from my traps. You know that, I own it. Now this. I ain't having little buddy here struggling like that." He looked the two over. "How can I help?"
---===*===---
The boat purred as it slowed down near the base of the grove of bknot trees. Bubba stared up into the webbed boughs and met the gaze of a dozen tall spiderfolk. Pusdot and Sliplegs were bowing low with their eyes darkened and downturned behind him.
The tallest spiderfolk, standing in the center of the group spoke in their garble tongue. The orb was quick to translate. "What is this noise, this thing and beast with you? Are you captured by this monstrosity?"
Bubba shook his head, his hands out to his sides. "I am friend of Pusdot and young Sliplegs here." He said, the orb quick to translate, echoing through the hardened trees. "I am in debt to these two, and to repay them I have assisted them in providing dowry for Sliplegs wives."
The tall one widened her eyes and stepped to a lower bow, hands stretching out. "You offer yourself beast?"
Pusdot rose quickly, stepping up beside his human friend. "No Mother Silentcut. He is a friend of our nest. He has helped us kill fnga, and we have brought three sides to feast upon tonight. My son's wives will eat their fill as shall your tribe. Please, do not harm our friend."
Sliplegs, still cowering, pulled the tarp off the meat.
The large females in the trees immediately focused in on the display.
Mother Silentcut's eyes widened. "This has never been." She pulled her eyes away from the meat and looked Bubba over. "This is the witch beast is it not?"
"Bubba Yaga Ma'am." He replied. "Pleasure to meet you."
2024.05.28 02:36 Improvised_Excuse234 Malicious Compliance
Fallout Themed RP: Play as either side, don’t be a dick.
Context: After capturing a BoS Knight, Aux and his crew prepare to return their high-value individual at the request of a furious local chapter of Brotherhood of Steel. After sending the retrieval location, Aux surprisingly agreed to their demands, but the BoS may find that simply rolling in and taking their missing member back would be no simple task.
RP: Acoustics bounced and echoed around Main Street; Aux drummed his fingers to the beat as he waited patiently, his eyes watching over the forest overgrowth as it slowly but surely reclaimed the territory nature lost when humanity had developed the land into a sprawling and bustling city. His eyes drifted over lush mutated greens of trees loaded with red, orange, and yellow leaves fluttering in the wind.
The town smelled of dry rot, exposed foundations crumbled under their exposure to the weather, and neglected over the years after the bombs fell. “Least it didn’t smell like rotting meat.” He thought to himself while his eyes drifted towards a t-shaped intersection where a singular figure sat in a folding chair out in the open beside a table underneath a worn umbrella. With a nuka cola, yum yum deviled eggs sat beside them, sometimes tiny pinpricks of light from the breeze glanced over the items. Beside him, glistening in the sunlight, was a complete suit of power armor, standing idly by as if it waited for a pilot to commandeer it again.
“Tabbi? How’s our boy doing?” Aux grumbled, and a figure sat up from an upper floor. Old papers shifted as a head draped in a light blanket reared its head up. A short-haired blonde woman peeked up, bringing a pair of binoculars to her head, and peered through it.
“He looks unbothered, in the shade, has his snacks, relaxed, listening to some music, minding his business, in his element; we even gave him his power armor back.” A woman said hoarsely before reaching for a can of purified water. “Aside from looking like he’s beaten to shit, he’s doing better than us.” She reported, and she took a sip from the can.
“That’s all superficial; I sure hope that dumb asshole knows what he’s doing,” Aux added with a chuckle. He adjusted his spot in the second-story corner of a dilapidated building, long since having fallen into disrepair. “Look at him; we gave him food, water, shade, music, beautiful outside, the weather isn’t bad. Hell, we’re the best damn babysitters the brotherhood could ask for.” He craned to peer around the various buildings dotting the city street.
“Damn straight,” Tabbi said flatly before the sound of Vertibird engines slowly drifted into earshot. “I’ll admit, I expected Donavan to tap out well before they showed up. He’s a trooper, alright.” She sighed. “Ah, it’s about time.” She mumbled and pointed behind Aux. “Three…scratch that, four…challengers approach on winged steel beasts.” She added as Aux sniffed and fiddled with his pockets. He clutched a remote control, rotating the dial counterclockwise. The volume of the stereos died down, filling the town with an eerie silence.
“Sound the alarm,” Aux ordered flatly as he peeked over at the equipment beside him. Tabbi nodded and brought up her arm to reveal a weathered pip-boy attached to her arm.
“Coming right up, boss,” Tabbi answered quickly as she twisted the dial and pressed a button. “Sticks all yours, boss.” She said as he dialed up the volume. The intro verse to “Atom Bomb Baby” echoed throughout the streets, signaling to the others that the time to steel their nerves and get into position was now. “You know, I like this song. It's charming.” Tabbi added as the vertibirds approached. She risked looking up at them, a piece of black plastic tubing over the barrels of the binoculars, small slits cut into the center of the improvised lens caps to mitigate light reflecting and giving her position away.
“Looks like a gunship; that’s going to be a problem. It's splitting off with one other bird.” Tabbi muttered. Aux only shrugged, not sweating the extra detail.
“It is just an easy detail.” He commented as the engines grew louder. “Come and get him, you bastards,” Aux growled to himself as the remaining two vertibirds lowered their altitude to only twenty meters off the ground. The nearby trees shook and rippled as the rotor wash dusted off the uneven pavement. “That’s not a bad choice, and I like Dion, though “The Wanderer” has this appeal to me I can’t quite pinpoint, but…whatever,” Aux added as Tabbi raised an eyebrow.
Several hulking figures descended from each troop bay, the birds shaking and rising quickly as their weight and balance shifted and changed. Power armor suits landed with a thunderous sound as ropes descended from the edge of the vertibirds. Scribes and initiates fast roped down as the paladins secured the landing zone, waiting for the rest of their team to put their boots on the ground, bringing their laser and assault rifles up as they fanned out to take cover.
“Oh, very professional.” Aux thought to himself as they slowly made their way towards the lone figure in the intersection, now struggling in their seat, gagged, bound, helpless to warn their allies. “We have two squads approaching from one direction and one other converging down the other avenue…eh, shouldn’t be an issue.” He thought to himself as the heavy footsteps and hissing hydraulics lumbered into earshot. The gunship circled overhead, its deadly shadow casting an ominous dark spotlight on the land.
“Oh, man…” He groaned as he dared not move from His vantage point. The towering armored behemoths crept into view; uncertain and skeptical initiates stayed close to the only source of mobile cover. Once he was sure the gunship no longer had a direct line of sight to him, Aux slowly reached for a detonator set off to the side. He delicately motioned for Tabbi to hold briefly as the group inched closer to exactly where he needed them to be. He signaled to her with a short, subdued hand wave, and the music suddenly cut out. One of the Knights stopped, holding their hand as the entire element halted immediately.
Aux lowered the volume to not blow out the speakers as Tabbi selected a second song. The world was suddenly filled with the opening to “Runaround Sue” by Dion, kicked off to welcome the Brotherhood of Steel foot soldiers to the worst mistakes of their lives. He cranked the volume to the maximum, blasting a deafening tune across the local area as the music picked up.
Aux clicks the clacker several times, ducking down as he grits his teeth. A car lining the side of the street, closest to three Paladins, and a cluster of lightly armored scribes and imitates erupted into a miniature nuclear fireball. The force of the blast lifted Paladin off their feet and tossed them through the air as the forward-most member in power armor staggered to the side. The unarmored troops were enveloped in nuclear fire, some disintegrating into wet red pieces, others vaporized where they stood.
A secondary explosion detonated quickly, knocking the paladin off balance and propelling them into a nearby department building with a raucous clatter. Tabbi stood upright, a launcher firmly planted on her shoulders as she fired two rockets into the collapsing building. Aux poked his head out of cover, wielding a light machine gun, centering the buckhorn sight on a beleaguered group of unarmored initiates and scribes.
He let loose a devastating burst of eight-millimeter mauser, cutting down several initiates as the music picked up. The engines of the Vertibird zipped overhead as the gunship navigated into a firing position overhead. “Oh shit.” Aux thought to himself as Tabbi let loose another short salvo. The ship turned its broadside to face them; he saw the Knight operating the heavy door gun and angling its rotating barrels toward the two Raider's firing position. “Oh, Shit!” He cursed again before a rocket arced from the broken church steeple.
submitted by Improvised_Excuse234 to OriginalCharacter_RP [link] [comments]
Context: After capturing a BoS Knight, Aux and his crew prepare to return their high-value individual at the request of a furious local chapter of Brotherhood of Steel. After sending the retrieval location, Aux surprisingly agreed to their demands, but the BoS may find that simply rolling in and taking their missing member back would be no simple task.
RP: Acoustics bounced and echoed around Main Street; Aux drummed his fingers to the beat as he waited patiently, his eyes watching over the forest overgrowth as it slowly but surely reclaimed the territory nature lost when humanity had developed the land into a sprawling and bustling city. His eyes drifted over lush mutated greens of trees loaded with red, orange, and yellow leaves fluttering in the wind.
The town smelled of dry rot, exposed foundations crumbled under their exposure to the weather, and neglected over the years after the bombs fell. “Least it didn’t smell like rotting meat.” He thought to himself while his eyes drifted towards a t-shaped intersection where a singular figure sat in a folding chair out in the open beside a table underneath a worn umbrella. With a nuka cola, yum yum deviled eggs sat beside them, sometimes tiny pinpricks of light from the breeze glanced over the items. Beside him, glistening in the sunlight, was a complete suit of power armor, standing idly by as if it waited for a pilot to commandeer it again.
“Tabbi? How’s our boy doing?” Aux grumbled, and a figure sat up from an upper floor. Old papers shifted as a head draped in a light blanket reared its head up. A short-haired blonde woman peeked up, bringing a pair of binoculars to her head, and peered through it.
“He looks unbothered, in the shade, has his snacks, relaxed, listening to some music, minding his business, in his element; we even gave him his power armor back.” A woman said hoarsely before reaching for a can of purified water. “Aside from looking like he’s beaten to shit, he’s doing better than us.” She reported, and she took a sip from the can.
“That’s all superficial; I sure hope that dumb asshole knows what he’s doing,” Aux added with a chuckle. He adjusted his spot in the second-story corner of a dilapidated building, long since having fallen into disrepair. “Look at him; we gave him food, water, shade, music, beautiful outside, the weather isn’t bad. Hell, we’re the best damn babysitters the brotherhood could ask for.” He craned to peer around the various buildings dotting the city street.
“Damn straight,” Tabbi said flatly before the sound of Vertibird engines slowly drifted into earshot. “I’ll admit, I expected Donavan to tap out well before they showed up. He’s a trooper, alright.” She sighed. “Ah, it’s about time.” She mumbled and pointed behind Aux. “Three…scratch that, four…challengers approach on winged steel beasts.” She added as Aux sniffed and fiddled with his pockets. He clutched a remote control, rotating the dial counterclockwise. The volume of the stereos died down, filling the town with an eerie silence.
“Sound the alarm,” Aux ordered flatly as he peeked over at the equipment beside him. Tabbi nodded and brought up her arm to reveal a weathered pip-boy attached to her arm.
“Coming right up, boss,” Tabbi answered quickly as she twisted the dial and pressed a button. “Sticks all yours, boss.” She said as he dialed up the volume. The intro verse to “Atom Bomb Baby” echoed throughout the streets, signaling to the others that the time to steel their nerves and get into position was now. “You know, I like this song. It's charming.” Tabbi added as the vertibirds approached. She risked looking up at them, a piece of black plastic tubing over the barrels of the binoculars, small slits cut into the center of the improvised lens caps to mitigate light reflecting and giving her position away.
“Looks like a gunship; that’s going to be a problem. It's splitting off with one other bird.” Tabbi muttered. Aux only shrugged, not sweating the extra detail.
“It is just an easy detail.” He commented as the engines grew louder. “Come and get him, you bastards,” Aux growled to himself as the remaining two vertibirds lowered their altitude to only twenty meters off the ground. The nearby trees shook and rippled as the rotor wash dusted off the uneven pavement. “That’s not a bad choice, and I like Dion, though “The Wanderer” has this appeal to me I can’t quite pinpoint, but…whatever,” Aux added as Tabbi raised an eyebrow.
Several hulking figures descended from each troop bay, the birds shaking and rising quickly as their weight and balance shifted and changed. Power armor suits landed with a thunderous sound as ropes descended from the edge of the vertibirds. Scribes and initiates fast roped down as the paladins secured the landing zone, waiting for the rest of their team to put their boots on the ground, bringing their laser and assault rifles up as they fanned out to take cover.
“Oh, very professional.” Aux thought to himself as they slowly made their way towards the lone figure in the intersection, now struggling in their seat, gagged, bound, helpless to warn their allies. “We have two squads approaching from one direction and one other converging down the other avenue…eh, shouldn’t be an issue.” He thought to himself as the heavy footsteps and hissing hydraulics lumbered into earshot. The gunship circled overhead, its deadly shadow casting an ominous dark spotlight on the land.
“Oh, man…” He groaned as he dared not move from His vantage point. The towering armored behemoths crept into view; uncertain and skeptical initiates stayed close to the only source of mobile cover. Once he was sure the gunship no longer had a direct line of sight to him, Aux slowly reached for a detonator set off to the side. He delicately motioned for Tabbi to hold briefly as the group inched closer to exactly where he needed them to be. He signaled to her with a short, subdued hand wave, and the music suddenly cut out. One of the Knights stopped, holding their hand as the entire element halted immediately.
Aux lowered the volume to not blow out the speakers as Tabbi selected a second song. The world was suddenly filled with the opening to “Runaround Sue” by Dion, kicked off to welcome the Brotherhood of Steel foot soldiers to the worst mistakes of their lives. He cranked the volume to the maximum, blasting a deafening tune across the local area as the music picked up.
Aux clicks the clacker several times, ducking down as he grits his teeth. A car lining the side of the street, closest to three Paladins, and a cluster of lightly armored scribes and imitates erupted into a miniature nuclear fireball. The force of the blast lifted Paladin off their feet and tossed them through the air as the forward-most member in power armor staggered to the side. The unarmored troops were enveloped in nuclear fire, some disintegrating into wet red pieces, others vaporized where they stood.
A secondary explosion detonated quickly, knocking the paladin off balance and propelling them into a nearby department building with a raucous clatter. Tabbi stood upright, a launcher firmly planted on her shoulders as she fired two rockets into the collapsing building. Aux poked his head out of cover, wielding a light machine gun, centering the buckhorn sight on a beleaguered group of unarmored initiates and scribes.
He let loose a devastating burst of eight-millimeter mauser, cutting down several initiates as the music picked up. The engines of the Vertibird zipped overhead as the gunship navigated into a firing position overhead. “Oh shit.” Aux thought to himself as Tabbi let loose another short salvo. The ship turned its broadside to face them; he saw the Knight operating the heavy door gun and angling its rotating barrels toward the two Raider's firing position. “Oh, Shit!” He cursed again before a rocket arced from the broken church steeple.
2024.05.28 00:44 Blacksad9999 Advice on Cervical Spine damage claim.
Hello!! Thanks for any advice, and sorry for the long post in advance.
9 months ago, I hurt myself at work doing some heavy lifting. During the time of the accident, I felt a sharp painful "pinch" in my neck/shoulder area (for lack of a better term) and then a spreading, hot sensation around my shoulder blade area.
I had the next 3 days off of work, and had a lot of pain in the area, but assumed I had pulled a muscle or something similar.
Upon going back to work, I quickly found that my weight bearing capacity of my left arm was next to nothing. I couldn't, and still can't, lift more than 8-10 pounds with my left arm. I'm in pretty good shape (46m), and could previously curl over 50 pounds with that arm.
I initiated a claim and it was approved, work put me on light duty (which has been mostly just lip service), and with no real diagnosis, was put through a gamut of Physical Therapy, Chiropractic, Theraputic Massage, and Acupuncture. I was never once offered any time off of work, and worked my full schedule even though it was pretty painful at a number of different points. The Acupuncture is the only treatment that has had any results, and that just helps with pain relief, not any relief on my weight bearing capacity on my arm. I had a QME appointment which stated that without limited duty, I'd be medically disabled.
After going through those with no real diagnosis, 7.5 months in they decide to do an MRI on my cervical spine, as well as a nerve damage test on my left shouldearm, as the treatments yielded no beneficial results. The MRI showed significant vertebrae damage to the cervical spine, which then smashed the nerves to my shoulder area, which is why the left arm will not properly work. A nerve damage test coroborated this as well.
The next steps were a consultation with a neurosurgeon, and a cortizone shot which I'll be getting in the next 2 weeks. The neurosurgeon stated that he wanted to do a 3-level cervical spine fusion, which would largely take care of any pain, but likely would not help at all with the weight bearing issue and let me resume normal usage of my arm. Also of note is that I'm at high risk (~5%) of nerve damage/paralysis during the fusion surgery due to scoliosis in my cervical spine, my age, gender, and because I'm a smoker. (1/20 chance) The neurosurgeon said that the Cortizone shot will alleviate pain anywhere from 1 week to 3 months, at which point it will return, and then I should call him to schedule the triple fusion surgery.
Due to the inherent risks involved with surgery, paired with the fact that surgery is unlikely to actually fix the usage of my left arm and only help with pain relief, I'm pretty hesitant to go that route. I can manage the pain long term for the most part, as it's not as exacerbated when I'm not constantly using it.
At this point, I think my next step would be to get the Cortizone shot, and then ask for a follow up QME appointment to determine my MMI rating, as this doesn't sound like it's going to improve any further, and it doesn't seem like I'll be able to work in my field of 26 years any longer.
My worker's comp attorney stated that they were going to check to see if the insurance company had put out any information on a predetermined settlement, which apparently they sometimes do.
Now I'm just waiting to hear back from my lawyer.
In this instance, I assume any type of settlement offered by the insurance company will be a very low-ball offer. Is it better to wait until the MMI rating, and then try to proceed with a settlement?
Moving forward, it seems like I'll have to either go back to school, or go to get some type of certification to find a totally new type of employment. (I've been looking at IT certifications for a potential state IT job or something similar.)
Does anyone have any experience in this type of situation and advice? I'm assuming at this point I'd just get the Cortizone shot, follow up with the QME Doctor and get the MMI rating, and then work out a settlement from there? Non-surgical methods have gotten no results, and it sounds like the invasive and risky surgery would not bring back my arm functionality either.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, and thanks for your time.
submitted by Blacksad9999 to WorkersComp [link] [comments]
9 months ago, I hurt myself at work doing some heavy lifting. During the time of the accident, I felt a sharp painful "pinch" in my neck/shoulder area (for lack of a better term) and then a spreading, hot sensation around my shoulder blade area.
I had the next 3 days off of work, and had a lot of pain in the area, but assumed I had pulled a muscle or something similar.
Upon going back to work, I quickly found that my weight bearing capacity of my left arm was next to nothing. I couldn't, and still can't, lift more than 8-10 pounds with my left arm. I'm in pretty good shape (46m), and could previously curl over 50 pounds with that arm.
I initiated a claim and it was approved, work put me on light duty (which has been mostly just lip service), and with no real diagnosis, was put through a gamut of Physical Therapy, Chiropractic, Theraputic Massage, and Acupuncture. I was never once offered any time off of work, and worked my full schedule even though it was pretty painful at a number of different points. The Acupuncture is the only treatment that has had any results, and that just helps with pain relief, not any relief on my weight bearing capacity on my arm. I had a QME appointment which stated that without limited duty, I'd be medically disabled.
After going through those with no real diagnosis, 7.5 months in they decide to do an MRI on my cervical spine, as well as a nerve damage test on my left shouldearm, as the treatments yielded no beneficial results. The MRI showed significant vertebrae damage to the cervical spine, which then smashed the nerves to my shoulder area, which is why the left arm will not properly work. A nerve damage test coroborated this as well.
The next steps were a consultation with a neurosurgeon, and a cortizone shot which I'll be getting in the next 2 weeks. The neurosurgeon stated that he wanted to do a 3-level cervical spine fusion, which would largely take care of any pain, but likely would not help at all with the weight bearing issue and let me resume normal usage of my arm. Also of note is that I'm at high risk (~5%) of nerve damage/paralysis during the fusion surgery due to scoliosis in my cervical spine, my age, gender, and because I'm a smoker. (1/20 chance) The neurosurgeon said that the Cortizone shot will alleviate pain anywhere from 1 week to 3 months, at which point it will return, and then I should call him to schedule the triple fusion surgery.
Due to the inherent risks involved with surgery, paired with the fact that surgery is unlikely to actually fix the usage of my left arm and only help with pain relief, I'm pretty hesitant to go that route. I can manage the pain long term for the most part, as it's not as exacerbated when I'm not constantly using it.
At this point, I think my next step would be to get the Cortizone shot, and then ask for a follow up QME appointment to determine my MMI rating, as this doesn't sound like it's going to improve any further, and it doesn't seem like I'll be able to work in my field of 26 years any longer.
My worker's comp attorney stated that they were going to check to see if the insurance company had put out any information on a predetermined settlement, which apparently they sometimes do.
Now I'm just waiting to hear back from my lawyer.
In this instance, I assume any type of settlement offered by the insurance company will be a very low-ball offer. Is it better to wait until the MMI rating, and then try to proceed with a settlement?
Moving forward, it seems like I'll have to either go back to school, or go to get some type of certification to find a totally new type of employment. (I've been looking at IT certifications for a potential state IT job or something similar.)
Does anyone have any experience in this type of situation and advice? I'm assuming at this point I'd just get the Cortizone shot, follow up with the QME Doctor and get the MMI rating, and then work out a settlement from there? Non-surgical methods have gotten no results, and it sounds like the invasive and risky surgery would not bring back my arm functionality either.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, and thanks for your time.
2024.05.28 00:44 Plastic-Guava-6941 Never let a human escape : One Shot Short Story
Never let a human escape : One Shot Short Story
Mike Samson jolted awake to a blinding light flooding his studio apartment. He shielded his eyes as crackling arcs of blue energy danced across his body, every nerve suddenly detonating in anguished fire. Paralysis gripped his muscles even as he tried to cry out.
Looming figures materialized amidst the electrical flare - grotesque bipedal reptilians with leering crimson eyes and taloned hands. Their lipless maws stretched wide, lolling forked tongues scenting the air as they surrounded Mike's prone form. Guttural alien words were hissed back and forth, the meaning opaque but dripping with malign intent.
Mike's world became a whirlwind of thrashing limbs and piercing shrieks as he was wrenched from the safety of his apartment. His fingernails raked futilely across floorboards until the reptilians pinned his flailing appendages, injecting him with an insidious inky ichor. Sedation flooded his mind in cloying chemical shockwaves, subsuming him into a lightless gulf of terrified delirium.
When consciousness sputtered back, he found himself entombed in a claustrophobic metal chamber. Tubes and cables snaked across his naked bruised body, adhering to his flesh with osculating mouthparts that pumped calibrated chemistries through his bloodstream. The chamber's curved walls throbbed with alien energies and holographic readouts scrawling reams of data in indecipherable xenolinguistics.
Mike retched in breathless cycles, his throat burning from acidic expulsions. Liquid terror coursed through his veins as unfathomable implications slowly crystallized. He'd been abducted...by aliens...for reasons his traumatized psyche refused to countenance. Test subject, lab rat, biological curiosity - none of those roles offered any shred of consolation as the chamber's atmosphere toxified with soporific aerosols and dragged him back into oblivion's void.
***********************************************************************
Has it been hours? Days? Weeks?
Mike drifted in and out of muddled consciousness, his bearings unmoored from any sense of time's passage. Periods of lucidity were fleeting islands amid an endless ocean of drugged delirium. The only constant was the steady throb of his heartbeat reminding him he still clung to life.
Alien machinery burred and chirped all around him in a maddening industrial symphony. Icy metal restraints bit into his wrists and ankles with every feeble twitch of struggle against their corrosive bite. Mike's throat was raw from bellowing until his voice gave out - hoarse howls of mutinous fury directed at his unseen jailors.
Visions flickered at the peripheries of his sedation-blurred mind. Arcane readouts and holographic displays bathing him in eldritch kaleidoscopic hues. Twisting shapes moving just outside his field of vision, forms that struck primordial chords of terror within his fraying psyche.
Where was he? What fresh abomination had he been submitted to by these...things? His memories were scorched ashes swirling in mental windstorms, cyclones of delirium peeling back each successive layer of reality until only the stark existential core remained - survive, escape, or die.
Each agonizing return to lucidity saw Mike renewing his struggles against the restraints with snarling desperation. He could feel his body's resistance to the sedatives gradually building, his flashes of cognizance persisting for longer intervals before the soporific tsunami dragged him back under.
He pulled at the bonds until his wrists ran with blood, snarling through clenched teeth as his muscles screamed in agony. Every iota of leverage was exploited, his frame bowing into a tortured arch as tendons and ligaments strained in rebellion against the metal's embrace.
Something had to give. He could feel the integrity of his bonds slowly compromising. A hairline fracture caulking, threads sheering apart with each explosive exertion. The acrid tang of his own sweat and desperation flooded Mike's nostrils, lending visceral momentum to his thrashings as sanity ebbed.
With a scream of cathartic ferocity, one strap's corroded links finally severed under his single-minded throes. An arm broke free, flailing wildly as it summited its shackled peak. Mike's roars achieved a galvanizing fervor as realization blossomed - his escape was now inevitable, even if it meant shredding every tendon and dislocating every bone.
He needed to escape. He needed to get back home.
The chamber reverberated with the wail of klaxons, their shrill cries cutting through the air like banshees unleashed. Warning lights pulsed in a frenzied dance, casting eerie shadows across the metallic walls.
They knew he was free.
***********************************************************************
The stench of burning insulation seared Mike's nostrils as he clawed his way free of the shattered alien wreckage. Jagged shards of metal sliced deep into his palms, warm blood streaming over his trembling fingers. He sucked in a ragged breath of toxins and smoke, instantly doubling over in a fit of rasping coughs that lasted until spots clouded his vision.
Disoriented, he dragged himself across a carpet of mangled bodies and severed limbs. The dead seemed to leer at him with glassy eyes, their jaws frozen in forever-screams of agony. He retched uncontrollably at the sight, vomiting up streams of sour bile until his abdomen clenched with painful spasms.
Get up! His mind screamed the command like a slaver's lash. Trembling, Mike rose to his feet, nearly collapsing again as his gaze fell upon the ruined wasteland surrounding him. The alien craft's hull had been torn asunder, scattering twisted wreckage across a desolate clearing. In the distance, a verdant alien jungle extended in every direction, its dense foliage seeming to pulse with threats undiscerned.
His first urges were to curl up and expire like the corpses at his feet. Let this nightmare claim him. Perhaps in oblivion's void he might find merciful respite. But a more primal drive recoiled within him - the ingrained human compulsion to persevere, no matter how hopeless or harrowing the circumstances.
Stumbling through the burning wreckage, Mike became a scavenger parsing through the leavings of carnage. A sharpened length of metal shearing became his first weapon, still streaked with the fluorescent blood of its alien former owner. Strips of insulation were wrapped around his lacerated palms as makeshift bandages.
Clutching the blade, he forged on into the unknown depths of the jungle, its shadows and stifling humidity seeming to swallow him whole as he ventured heedlessly forward with no clear destination. All that mattered was putting distance between himself and the haunting mass grave of the alien craft.
Days stretched into sole-lacerating weeks as Mike wandered the primordial arboreal maze, slowly surrendering vestiges of his former life with each agonizing step. The blood-sodden layers of his tattered clothing gradually fell away until he moved through the jungle's gloom entirely nude and feral. His fair skin was sunburnt and leathery, his once pampered hands transformed into gnarled claws.
While the sustenance of unfamiliar alien vegetation helped slake his thirst, hunger remained his constant goad and tormentor. He eyed the scurrying forms of reptilian creatures with the raptor focus of a starving animal until the will to survive eclipsed all human compunction.
Using his sharpened metal shard, he dissected and consumed his first kill like a ravening beast, slurping up morsels of glistening flesh and shredding hide with his bare teeth. The act was a sordid rebirth, irrevocably severing him from his former existence. With each hunt, each successful skirmish against the jungle's myriad lethal threats, he lost more of whatever lingering humanity still persisted.
When at last he encountered the giant bipedal alien hunters, Mike was all but unrecognizable. His filthy, emaciated form was caked in dried sweat, grime and ichors of past kills. His salt-encrusted hair hung in matted cords over eyes that no longer showed anything beyond the desperation of a starved predator.
Armed with an arsenal of bone spears and crude blades fashioned from discarded alien tech, he fell upon the hunting party with such ferocious savagery that they initially mistook him for a member of their own reptilian species. Bellowing wordless screeches of fury, Mike decapitated and eviscerated with the unreasoning violence of a rabid animal.
Only after painting his entire body in the vibrant ichor of his slaughtered adversaries did his primal frenzy begin to abate. He stood in the sanguine entrail-strewn aftermath like a feral pagan idol of warfare. Gone was any glimmer of the man he had once been before his ordeal. That identity was dead, replaced by a nameless, savage demigod whose only purpose was to endure.
As Mike submerged himself back into the jungle's leafy shadows, a mad bark of laughter escaped his cracked lips. He was no longer a prisoner to this world - the worlditself was now the shackled captive, unable to extinguish the indomitable spark of his will to survive. No depredation, anguish or madness could extinguish the raging furnace of his need to persevere at any cost.
He was the alpha and the omega of this blighted untamed hell. All else that cross his path would be subsumed by the remorseless riptide of his existence. Reason, mercy, and hope were antiquated relics he'd gladly use as tinder to stoke the inextinguishable bonfire of his will to endure unto forever. His metamorphosis was complete.
***********************************************************************
The air hung thick and fetid in the Cenmeri rainforest, a miasma of rot and desperation. Tchir's leathery nostrils flared as he scented his prey - the sweet, cloying musk of human fear. His massive tail lashed back and forth, crushing underbrush with each powerful swing. Wicked talons as long as daggers flexed, eager to rend flesh from bone.
Tchir signaled his hunting pack with a guttural hiss. Six hardened killers fanned out in formation, their bodies adorned with jagged scars and ritualistic markings. They moved with a predator's graceful menace through the gloom.
Up ahead, the mutilated remains of a previous team littered the jungle floor like obscene blossoms. Entrails painted the foliage in garish streaks of crimson. One corpse hung crucified from a tree trunk, its sightless eyes already being consumed by rapacious insects.
A low, bestial growl rumbled from Tchir's gaping maw. The human was close. He could taste its acrid stench of terror, Could hear its feeble heart hammering like a war drum. His obsidian claws dug into the loamy soil as he inhaled deeply, triangulating the fear pheromones saturating the air.
Without warning, bloody carnage erupted. One hunter pitched backwards, impaled by an impossibly long metal spike that seemed to appear from nowhere. Another's head detonated in a crimson mist as something unseen moved through the jungle with blurring speed. Tchir roared in fury, the sound shaking leaves from the canopy.
His packmates opened fire blindly into the vegetation, high-caliber rounds chewing through wood and pulping anything in their path. For a suspended moment, the forest held its breath, hunkering in dread anticipation.
Then it began anew - dismembered limbs and viscera raining from the treetops in a foul deluge. Tchir felt white-hot agony erupt across his back as he spun, jaws snapping at his invisible tormentor. A handful of razor-edged flechettes protruded from his armored hide, punched there by immense force.
One by one, the hunters fell, their anguished screams abruptly truncated. Only Tchir remained, crouched in the greasy mulch, stunned and alone. He snapped his head from side to side, searching in vain for any trace of the human.
Without warning, it was there - a blur of movement depositing itself atop Tchir's barrel chest, knees pinning his arms. The stench of its fear had transformed to a feral musk of hatred. Tchir snarled up at his attacker, hideously deformed jaws stretching wide in a futile attempt to disembowel the human.
It leaned in close, pupils glittering like polished obsidian. It smiled mirthlessly, lips pulling back to expose teeth augmented to keen points. In its hands it held a gleaming blade, its mirrored edge seeming to swallow all light.
The human's sardonic voice was a slithering whisper: "You should not have brought me here."
With a solitary, fluid motion, it drew the blade across Tchir's jugular. Boiling green ichor geysered from the gaping wound as the hunter's mighty body shuddered and fell still. The human rose, drenched in Tchir's lifeblood, yet seemed utterly apathetic to the horrific violence it had committed.
***********************************************************************
Vkralt hissed in frustration as the holographic tactical display flickered through the latest reconnaissance imagery. More of his kinsmen's corpses, strewn like butchered meat among the mangled wreckage of their insertion craft.
Around the dimly lit command pavilion, his fellow elders shifted in agitated silence, their armored tails lashing behind them. They knew the implications as well as Vkralt - another extraction team had been massacred by the human fugitive.
"This cannot continue," Vkralt finally growled, spiked tongue flicking out to taste the tension in the air. "That mammalian's vendetta has already claimed over fifty Karrthaz lives. We are hemorrhaging our finest warriors to equatorial folly."
"What choice remains to us?" One of the elders finally rasped. "We cannot allow such an abomination to range unfettered across the jungle, consumed by hatred and seeking indiscriminate vengeance."
"And we cannot solicit intervention from any of the greater civilized worlds," snapped another. "To do so admits we attempted sentient species ! We just short of confess we broke the intergalactic Rites of Observation."
"Perhaps..." a raspy voice joined the discourse, every head turning to regard the withered form of Kalrax the Ancient.
Eyes filmed with cataracts, the wizened elder nonetheless fixed the gathered throng with a stare that demanded deference. "Perhaps we have underestimated the magnitude of consequence should we fail to excise this human remnant."
Akralt lowered his head in solemn obeisance. "Enlighten us, Ancestor."
Kalrax worked his jaws slowly, every word feeling carved rather than spoken: "We have already borne witness to the damage one solitary human is capable of perpetrating. With only the basest tools and primordial wrath as weapons. Now ponder...what if this human is allowed to escape and interface with its terrestrial hive-kin? What if a unified human force, augmented by their burgeoning technologies, took offense at our violations and sought unconditional retaliation?"
A horrified susurrus passed through the assembled Karrthaz as the implications reverberated. Raising a single gnarled talon, Kalrax silenced them and continued in a voice gone deathly quiet:
"If a lone, nameless terrestrial is capable of such devastation...what horrors would befall the Karrthaz lineage should we face the combined wrath of its entire planet? We Risk Extinction..."
*************************************************************************
I dub this StoryBait.
If you liked this one shot and want a more complete story then try my Amazon Novel. Available on Kindle Unlimited You can also access Exclusive one shots and my entire ongoing novel series on Patreon
If you have a one shot story Idea you want me write, let me know and I will try my best!
submitted by Plastic-Guava-6941 to HFY [link] [comments]
Mike Samson jolted awake to a blinding light flooding his studio apartment. He shielded his eyes as crackling arcs of blue energy danced across his body, every nerve suddenly detonating in anguished fire. Paralysis gripped his muscles even as he tried to cry out.
Looming figures materialized amidst the electrical flare - grotesque bipedal reptilians with leering crimson eyes and taloned hands. Their lipless maws stretched wide, lolling forked tongues scenting the air as they surrounded Mike's prone form. Guttural alien words were hissed back and forth, the meaning opaque but dripping with malign intent.
Mike's world became a whirlwind of thrashing limbs and piercing shrieks as he was wrenched from the safety of his apartment. His fingernails raked futilely across floorboards until the reptilians pinned his flailing appendages, injecting him with an insidious inky ichor. Sedation flooded his mind in cloying chemical shockwaves, subsuming him into a lightless gulf of terrified delirium.
When consciousness sputtered back, he found himself entombed in a claustrophobic metal chamber. Tubes and cables snaked across his naked bruised body, adhering to his flesh with osculating mouthparts that pumped calibrated chemistries through his bloodstream. The chamber's curved walls throbbed with alien energies and holographic readouts scrawling reams of data in indecipherable xenolinguistics.
Mike retched in breathless cycles, his throat burning from acidic expulsions. Liquid terror coursed through his veins as unfathomable implications slowly crystallized. He'd been abducted...by aliens...for reasons his traumatized psyche refused to countenance. Test subject, lab rat, biological curiosity - none of those roles offered any shred of consolation as the chamber's atmosphere toxified with soporific aerosols and dragged him back into oblivion's void.
***********************************************************************
Has it been hours? Days? Weeks?
Mike drifted in and out of muddled consciousness, his bearings unmoored from any sense of time's passage. Periods of lucidity were fleeting islands amid an endless ocean of drugged delirium. The only constant was the steady throb of his heartbeat reminding him he still clung to life.
Alien machinery burred and chirped all around him in a maddening industrial symphony. Icy metal restraints bit into his wrists and ankles with every feeble twitch of struggle against their corrosive bite. Mike's throat was raw from bellowing until his voice gave out - hoarse howls of mutinous fury directed at his unseen jailors.
Visions flickered at the peripheries of his sedation-blurred mind. Arcane readouts and holographic displays bathing him in eldritch kaleidoscopic hues. Twisting shapes moving just outside his field of vision, forms that struck primordial chords of terror within his fraying psyche.
Where was he? What fresh abomination had he been submitted to by these...things? His memories were scorched ashes swirling in mental windstorms, cyclones of delirium peeling back each successive layer of reality until only the stark existential core remained - survive, escape, or die.
Each agonizing return to lucidity saw Mike renewing his struggles against the restraints with snarling desperation. He could feel his body's resistance to the sedatives gradually building, his flashes of cognizance persisting for longer intervals before the soporific tsunami dragged him back under.
He pulled at the bonds until his wrists ran with blood, snarling through clenched teeth as his muscles screamed in agony. Every iota of leverage was exploited, his frame bowing into a tortured arch as tendons and ligaments strained in rebellion against the metal's embrace.
Something had to give. He could feel the integrity of his bonds slowly compromising. A hairline fracture caulking, threads sheering apart with each explosive exertion. The acrid tang of his own sweat and desperation flooded Mike's nostrils, lending visceral momentum to his thrashings as sanity ebbed.
With a scream of cathartic ferocity, one strap's corroded links finally severed under his single-minded throes. An arm broke free, flailing wildly as it summited its shackled peak. Mike's roars achieved a galvanizing fervor as realization blossomed - his escape was now inevitable, even if it meant shredding every tendon and dislocating every bone.
He needed to escape. He needed to get back home.
The chamber reverberated with the wail of klaxons, their shrill cries cutting through the air like banshees unleashed. Warning lights pulsed in a frenzied dance, casting eerie shadows across the metallic walls.
They knew he was free.
***********************************************************************
The stench of burning insulation seared Mike's nostrils as he clawed his way free of the shattered alien wreckage. Jagged shards of metal sliced deep into his palms, warm blood streaming over his trembling fingers. He sucked in a ragged breath of toxins and smoke, instantly doubling over in a fit of rasping coughs that lasted until spots clouded his vision.
Disoriented, he dragged himself across a carpet of mangled bodies and severed limbs. The dead seemed to leer at him with glassy eyes, their jaws frozen in forever-screams of agony. He retched uncontrollably at the sight, vomiting up streams of sour bile until his abdomen clenched with painful spasms.
Get up! His mind screamed the command like a slaver's lash. Trembling, Mike rose to his feet, nearly collapsing again as his gaze fell upon the ruined wasteland surrounding him. The alien craft's hull had been torn asunder, scattering twisted wreckage across a desolate clearing. In the distance, a verdant alien jungle extended in every direction, its dense foliage seeming to pulse with threats undiscerned.
His first urges were to curl up and expire like the corpses at his feet. Let this nightmare claim him. Perhaps in oblivion's void he might find merciful respite. But a more primal drive recoiled within him - the ingrained human compulsion to persevere, no matter how hopeless or harrowing the circumstances.
Stumbling through the burning wreckage, Mike became a scavenger parsing through the leavings of carnage. A sharpened length of metal shearing became his first weapon, still streaked with the fluorescent blood of its alien former owner. Strips of insulation were wrapped around his lacerated palms as makeshift bandages.
Clutching the blade, he forged on into the unknown depths of the jungle, its shadows and stifling humidity seeming to swallow him whole as he ventured heedlessly forward with no clear destination. All that mattered was putting distance between himself and the haunting mass grave of the alien craft.
Days stretched into sole-lacerating weeks as Mike wandered the primordial arboreal maze, slowly surrendering vestiges of his former life with each agonizing step. The blood-sodden layers of his tattered clothing gradually fell away until he moved through the jungle's gloom entirely nude and feral. His fair skin was sunburnt and leathery, his once pampered hands transformed into gnarled claws.
While the sustenance of unfamiliar alien vegetation helped slake his thirst, hunger remained his constant goad and tormentor. He eyed the scurrying forms of reptilian creatures with the raptor focus of a starving animal until the will to survive eclipsed all human compunction.
Using his sharpened metal shard, he dissected and consumed his first kill like a ravening beast, slurping up morsels of glistening flesh and shredding hide with his bare teeth. The act was a sordid rebirth, irrevocably severing him from his former existence. With each hunt, each successful skirmish against the jungle's myriad lethal threats, he lost more of whatever lingering humanity still persisted.
When at last he encountered the giant bipedal alien hunters, Mike was all but unrecognizable. His filthy, emaciated form was caked in dried sweat, grime and ichors of past kills. His salt-encrusted hair hung in matted cords over eyes that no longer showed anything beyond the desperation of a starved predator.
Armed with an arsenal of bone spears and crude blades fashioned from discarded alien tech, he fell upon the hunting party with such ferocious savagery that they initially mistook him for a member of their own reptilian species. Bellowing wordless screeches of fury, Mike decapitated and eviscerated with the unreasoning violence of a rabid animal.
Only after painting his entire body in the vibrant ichor of his slaughtered adversaries did his primal frenzy begin to abate. He stood in the sanguine entrail-strewn aftermath like a feral pagan idol of warfare. Gone was any glimmer of the man he had once been before his ordeal. That identity was dead, replaced by a nameless, savage demigod whose only purpose was to endure.
As Mike submerged himself back into the jungle's leafy shadows, a mad bark of laughter escaped his cracked lips. He was no longer a prisoner to this world - the worlditself was now the shackled captive, unable to extinguish the indomitable spark of his will to survive. No depredation, anguish or madness could extinguish the raging furnace of his need to persevere at any cost.
He was the alpha and the omega of this blighted untamed hell. All else that cross his path would be subsumed by the remorseless riptide of his existence. Reason, mercy, and hope were antiquated relics he'd gladly use as tinder to stoke the inextinguishable bonfire of his will to endure unto forever. His metamorphosis was complete.
***********************************************************************
The air hung thick and fetid in the Cenmeri rainforest, a miasma of rot and desperation. Tchir's leathery nostrils flared as he scented his prey - the sweet, cloying musk of human fear. His massive tail lashed back and forth, crushing underbrush with each powerful swing. Wicked talons as long as daggers flexed, eager to rend flesh from bone.
Tchir signaled his hunting pack with a guttural hiss. Six hardened killers fanned out in formation, their bodies adorned with jagged scars and ritualistic markings. They moved with a predator's graceful menace through the gloom.
Up ahead, the mutilated remains of a previous team littered the jungle floor like obscene blossoms. Entrails painted the foliage in garish streaks of crimson. One corpse hung crucified from a tree trunk, its sightless eyes already being consumed by rapacious insects.
A low, bestial growl rumbled from Tchir's gaping maw. The human was close. He could taste its acrid stench of terror, Could hear its feeble heart hammering like a war drum. His obsidian claws dug into the loamy soil as he inhaled deeply, triangulating the fear pheromones saturating the air.
Without warning, bloody carnage erupted. One hunter pitched backwards, impaled by an impossibly long metal spike that seemed to appear from nowhere. Another's head detonated in a crimson mist as something unseen moved through the jungle with blurring speed. Tchir roared in fury, the sound shaking leaves from the canopy.
His packmates opened fire blindly into the vegetation, high-caliber rounds chewing through wood and pulping anything in their path. For a suspended moment, the forest held its breath, hunkering in dread anticipation.
Then it began anew - dismembered limbs and viscera raining from the treetops in a foul deluge. Tchir felt white-hot agony erupt across his back as he spun, jaws snapping at his invisible tormentor. A handful of razor-edged flechettes protruded from his armored hide, punched there by immense force.
One by one, the hunters fell, their anguished screams abruptly truncated. Only Tchir remained, crouched in the greasy mulch, stunned and alone. He snapped his head from side to side, searching in vain for any trace of the human.
Without warning, it was there - a blur of movement depositing itself atop Tchir's barrel chest, knees pinning his arms. The stench of its fear had transformed to a feral musk of hatred. Tchir snarled up at his attacker, hideously deformed jaws stretching wide in a futile attempt to disembowel the human.
It leaned in close, pupils glittering like polished obsidian. It smiled mirthlessly, lips pulling back to expose teeth augmented to keen points. In its hands it held a gleaming blade, its mirrored edge seeming to swallow all light.
The human's sardonic voice was a slithering whisper: "You should not have brought me here."
With a solitary, fluid motion, it drew the blade across Tchir's jugular. Boiling green ichor geysered from the gaping wound as the hunter's mighty body shuddered and fell still. The human rose, drenched in Tchir's lifeblood, yet seemed utterly apathetic to the horrific violence it had committed.
***********************************************************************
Vkralt hissed in frustration as the holographic tactical display flickered through the latest reconnaissance imagery. More of his kinsmen's corpses, strewn like butchered meat among the mangled wreckage of their insertion craft.
Around the dimly lit command pavilion, his fellow elders shifted in agitated silence, their armored tails lashing behind them. They knew the implications as well as Vkralt - another extraction team had been massacred by the human fugitive.
"This cannot continue," Vkralt finally growled, spiked tongue flicking out to taste the tension in the air. "That mammalian's vendetta has already claimed over fifty Karrthaz lives. We are hemorrhaging our finest warriors to equatorial folly."
"What choice remains to us?" One of the elders finally rasped. "We cannot allow such an abomination to range unfettered across the jungle, consumed by hatred and seeking indiscriminate vengeance."
"And we cannot solicit intervention from any of the greater civilized worlds," snapped another. "To do so admits we attempted sentient species ! We just short of confess we broke the intergalactic Rites of Observation."
"Perhaps..." a raspy voice joined the discourse, every head turning to regard the withered form of Kalrax the Ancient.
Eyes filmed with cataracts, the wizened elder nonetheless fixed the gathered throng with a stare that demanded deference. "Perhaps we have underestimated the magnitude of consequence should we fail to excise this human remnant."
Akralt lowered his head in solemn obeisance. "Enlighten us, Ancestor."
Kalrax worked his jaws slowly, every word feeling carved rather than spoken: "We have already borne witness to the damage one solitary human is capable of perpetrating. With only the basest tools and primordial wrath as weapons. Now ponder...what if this human is allowed to escape and interface with its terrestrial hive-kin? What if a unified human force, augmented by their burgeoning technologies, took offense at our violations and sought unconditional retaliation?"
A horrified susurrus passed through the assembled Karrthaz as the implications reverberated. Raising a single gnarled talon, Kalrax silenced them and continued in a voice gone deathly quiet:
"If a lone, nameless terrestrial is capable of such devastation...what horrors would befall the Karrthaz lineage should we face the combined wrath of its entire planet? We Risk Extinction..."
*************************************************************************
I dub this StoryBait.
If you liked this one shot and want a more complete story then try my Amazon Novel. Available on Kindle Unlimited You can also access Exclusive one shots and my entire ongoing novel series on Patreon
If you have a one shot story Idea you want me write, let me know and I will try my best!
2024.05.27 22:21 FlyingRar My brother’s autism destroyed me
I don’t know if anyone will read this. I’m honestly not really sure what I hope to gain by posting this. I don’t even know if anyone will understand me. The most likely option is that barely anyone will even read this. Maybe it will help to just get this all out. Or maybe not. I’m not really sure. Please don’t judge me until you’ve read all the way through.
I guess for this to make sense, I have to start from the beginning. 24 years ago my twin brother and I were born. We are fraternal twins, I’m a girl and he’s a boy. Everything seemed fine when we were born, at least based off of what I’ve been told. We were about a month premature, but that’s pretty normal for twins. My brother had more issues than I did, but ultimately we were discharged from the hospital as healthy babies.
Things just went on from there. My mom had pretty severe postpartum depression according to her and my dad. My dad told me that she didn’t care for us at all because of the depression and that he did everything. I don’t hold that against her. I deal with pretty significant depression myself and know what it’s like. Anyway, I guess the depression subsided, and she got pregnant with my younger brother.
But when my brother and I were two, something happened that changed everything. My twin was diagnosed with severe autism. Now when I say servers autism, I mean severe. Unable to care for himself in any way, can’t read, barely able to communicate, very behavioral. The worst was the constant screaming. When I say constantly, I mean constantly. I can still hear it when I think about it. I high-pitched never ending scream. I know it’s not his fault, and I don’t blame him, so please don’t come at me.
Before I proceed any further, I want to get something out of the way. I love my twin brother more than anything. I would do anything for him. I know that he can’t help his autism. But just because I love him, doesn’t mean I can’t also recognize that his autism had a profound affect on me. People don’t realize how hard it is for the families of those with disabilities. They don’t realize how hard it is to see a loved one suffer like that. They don’t understand the agonizing guilt that comes along with it. They don’t understand how traumatizing it is to endure the constant screaming, the violent behaviors. To witness your parents feel so helpless and appear so sad and distraught all of the time. To see your brother pee and poop and throw up all over himself, scream, run around both in private and in public, and to have strangers yell at you and tell your parents that they are horrible parents for not being able to control their child, and then to see their parents cry because they are trying their best. To have your twin brother, pinch, tackle you, and pull your hair and not understand why. To see your twin brother hurt himself, and hurt others. To be deprived of attention at vital stages of development because your brother’s needs are so much more than yours. To have no one explain to you what is going on, so you end up blaming yourself, because he’s your twin brother. To feel like you need to be perfect and can’t have needs of your own because your parents are so overwhelmed by your brother, that you don’t want to cause any additional burdens for them. To see your mom become a shell of the person that she used to be because she blames herself for your twin’s autism and will never get over that. To see your dad become angry and turn to marijuana as a way to cope. All that being said, I know it’s not my brother’s fault, and I know the biggest victim of all of this is him. It breaks my heart that he has to deal with all that he has to deal with. I wish that I could take it all away from him. But I’ve had to accept that I really have no control over anything. Bed things just happen. At least that’s what I tell myself so I don’t blame myself.
Anyways, back to the story. My mom found out that my twin had autism while pregnant with my younger brother. A few months later my younger brother was born. Again, everything seemed fine. Until my younger brother didn’t talk until he was four. I think he was diagnosed with autism but my parents hid it from me. I think because they were in denial about it. But then he started talking at four. He got all the services, speech, OT, all those things. So did my twin brother. I didn’t get a lot of attention because my brother’s needs were so great. I felt unimportant and like I didn’t matter. When I did have a need, it wasn’t really focused on.
I developed severe anxiety from a young age. I think it was a mix of genetics and the stressful environment that I grew up in. Severe to the point where teachers noticed. But I didn’t get any help for it for a long time.
Fast forward to the summer before 6th grade. My twin’s behaviors became worse. The screaming was still constant. He would break things and he had been to around 5 different schools at that point. He wouldn’t sleep unless he was medicated. He would take an antipsychotic medication at night to help him sleep. It worked, but had side effects, like an insatiable appetite and weight gain. We had to lock the kitchen cabinets. My brother would also try to run away all the time, and sometimes was successful. One time my dad went out, and my mom was left with all three of us. She was never the one to care for my twin hands on, that was mainly my dad and me too sometimes. My brother ran away and we couldn’t find him anywhere. My mom had to call the police. They found my brother walking barefoot in the middle of the road. My mom was hysterical and yelling, and she barricaded the door with as much furniture as she could find. We ended up getting multiple locks on all of our doors. One time he ran away while I was watching him. I turned my back for one second and he was gone. We found him on his three wheeler in the middle of the road again. I could never have friends over because of my brother’s behavior. It was hard to focus on my homework or anything for that matter because of the constant screaming.
Anyway, the summer before sixth grade is when things started to get really hard. The anxiety morphed into something way worse. I had repetitive thoughts that bad things would happen and I had to do repetitive actions or else I thought the bad things would come true. I would later realize that this was OCD, but in the mean time I felt crazy and out of control. My parents would get angry at me when I would engage in the repetitive behaviors or ask for constant reassurance. I understand it was annoying, and they didn’t want to have another kid with problems, but I couldn’t help it. I was told that it was for attention. Honestly maybe it was a little bit, because I was so deprived of it, but them telling me that only hurt more. I didn’t understand why my brother’s problems got so much care and attention but mine were just met with anger. Anyway the OCD grew worse. I would have meltdowns because my thoughts were so horrible. My dad would get so angry. He would chase me up to my room and tackle me. He cut the head off of my favorite doll and cut up one of my favorite shirts. I got kicked in the tail bone once and couldn’t sit properly for like a week. He didn’t mean to kick me in the tailbone, only the squishy part. To be fair, I was impossible. Him doing what he did was the only thing to get me to stop. But it hurt. I felt so helpless, and like they didn’t understand.
Later that summer my parents finally took me to a psychiatrist. I got diagnosed with OCD and put on SSRIs, and things got better for a short while. But middle school was rough. I lost all my friends because I was acting out. Everyone thought I was weird, and I was. The OCD was more controlled, but still there. 8th grade came and I think that’s when the depression started to developed. That was the first time that I cut myself. Honestly, I did do it for attention. I desperately craved it, because I was so deprived of it. I desperately wanted someone to care about me. The only way I knew how to go about that was to show people that I was struggling. I saw my brother’s get attention for their struggles, and I thought that that was the only way to get people to care about me. I craved it from teachers. I tried to show them my arm, but make it look like ti was an accident. Like I kept my sleeve rolled up when they were near me. But they never noticed.
High school came, and that’s when things got really bad. My twin brother ended up having to go to a residential school because his behaviors became to hard to handle at home. This killed me. I thought it was my fault because we were twins. I thought I was the reason we were premature, and maybe I caused something at birth. I had this survivor’s guilt of sorts, like why him and not me? I became very depressed. My mom also became very depressed. I have memories of her in bed next to a bottle of benzos. Everyone fell apart. For years our whole family revolved around my twin, and now he was no longer at home.
I craved attention from teachers even more. I felt like a bad person for this, but I couldn’t help it. I tried to make myself look upset in front of them on purpose because I wanted them to ask if I was okay. Meanwhile, my parents called me an attention seeker when I would express my struggles. I became convinced that I was a bad person for being an attention seeker, but I also couldn’t help being one. My OCD harped on this, and I would obsess about this constantly. Getting attention was almost like a compulsion, but then when I would do things to get attention, I would feel incredibly guilty about it, and I absolutely hated and despised myself for this.
I started self harming a lot more, and I also started restricting my eating. I lost a lot of weight. My psychiatrist became worried about me. My parents told me I was an attention seeker and my mom made fun of me for my boobs getting smaller. My obsessions about needing attention but then also hating myself for it became stronger. My OCD became really bad again. I became su*cidal. I wanted to die. I couldn’t take it anymore. But I got good grades, I played Varsity soccer, and somehow functioned. I had to. I had to be the one that would be “normal”.
I got into an accelerated doctorate of physical therapy program at a prestigious school, because my grades were good. I told myself I would be a physical therapist and help people with Autism. I went to college, against the advice of my therapist and psychiatrist, because my parents said there was no other option. I had a mental breakdown.
My OCD became debilitating. I could barely even move without extreme difficulty because the compulsions were so intense. The obsessions were awful, and torturous. My grades were terrible. I failed out of the accelerated program because I couldn’t maintain the necessary GPA to stay in the program. I stayed in the university but under a health sciences major instead. I self harmed a lot. I wanted to die and was very close to an actually trying to do so. I had no friends. I had a guy who would sexually harass me, and a boyfriend who I didn’t even love. My parents wouldn’t let me leave school. My psychiatrist I was seeing there convinced them to let me go to a residential treatment place for OCD during the summer. I couldn’t stay the full length because it would interfere with school starting back up in the fall. But it was helpful for the time being. My compulsions were reduced a lot. The root cause of my obsessions weren’t traced though. I couldn’t tell anyone what it was. That I was so obsessed with needing attention. I was convinced that they would think that I was a bad person. I was in denial about it because I couldn’t face it.
So I left the place and went back to school hoping to have a better semester. But I had a breakdown within a few weeks of being there. I became suicidal and my parents forced my parents to take me home. They treated me like a failure. They were embarrassed to bring me places because they were embarrassed that I wasn’t in college like everybody else my age. It was torture being inside my brain. I ended up having to go to the mental hospital. I was tying stuff around my neck and screaming because the thoughts in my brain were torture. I didn’t want to be alive anymore. The OCD place accepted me back, and luckily insurance covered it. But it didn’t help this time. I was too far gone. I ended up in another mental hospital because I was going to take my own life. I was done. I saw no point. I thought I brought everyone pain. I was 19 years old and I did some really intense treatments that I am embarrassed to admit to. I would act out, try to hurt myself on the unit.
One day I was hysterically crying. A nurse came to talk to me. I told her I couldn’t take it, and that I wanted to die. She listened to me. Nobody every listened to me before. She told me that she had similar struggles to me and that she was able to get better and that I could to. This was the turning point for me. For the first time in my life, I believed that I could get better. The one day I met with the social worker there. She was questioning me about my destructive behaviors. I don’t know what allowed me to do it, but I admitted to her that I think I did these behaviors because I didn’t get a lot of attention growing up because of my twin brother. I had never told anyone that before. I thought she would think that I was a bad person but instead she told me that that made a lot of sense. I hadn’t yet uncovered how crummy my family situation was yet, and I hadn’t even fully admitted to myself that I was an attention seeker, but this was a huge step for me.
I ended up deciding that I wanted to be a nurse and help other people like the nurse that talked to me helped me. This was enough to give me a reason for wanting to live. That became my purpose until I could find one for myself. I was discharged from the hospital a little bit later.
Things were hard at first I was still su*cidal. I still had really bad obsessive thoughts, and thought of myself as a bad person. But I started seeing a really helpful therapist, and enrolled in nursing school, and things started to go in a positive direction.
I started to uncover a lot of trauma that I had been through. Not only the stuff from my twin brother, like the screaming and the behaviors, but also my family situation. My mom’s depression. The emotional abuse and neglect. The physical abuse that there was a little bit of. I realized that my OCD probably arose as a way to try to find some sense of control over a situation that felt so out of control.
I graduated nursing school, and got my first job as a nurse in September of 2023. I am having a hard time right now, but it does help to think of how far I’ve come. I still have really bad anxiety and obsessive thoughts. I still have pretty significant attention. The trauma that I experienced still impacts a whole lot of aspects of my every day life. The way I interact with people. It’s hard for me to have friendships. I don’t have any friends right now. I still feel this survivor’s guilt about my twin. Why him and not me. I am starting to realize it’s not my fault though.
Sometimes I feel like a failure. I’m 24 years old. I only have an associates degree (I am going to work toward obtaining my bachelors in July). I still live at home (I’m trying to save up). I have all these mental problems. I’ve gained a lot of weight because of the medications that I take. I still give into a lot of attention seeking urges, although not as much. I feel less bad about it though, because at least I know I developed those urges for a reason. Work is really hard. I work on a med-surg floor, and it’s really difficult. I am know as the anxious one by the people I work with. I’ve never really had a fulfilling romantic relationship. My room is a mess. Work causes me so much anxiety that I sometimes dread going in. I plan on switching to psychiatric nursing after I reach the one year mark. I still have 4 months to go. I hope that that will be easier for me. I feel like a failure. I know I have overcome a lot, but I still have a long way to go. Sometimes I feel like I will never get over what I’ve been through. Nobody understands, and sometimes I just feel disconnected by people. Sometimes I wonder how my life would have turned out if my brother never had autism. Would it be different? I feel bad thinking that. I am happy that I ended up being a nurse now and that I can help other people. I don’t know if that would have happened if it weren’t for what I’ve been through.
Anyways, that’s my story. I left some things out because it’s impossible to say everything. I hope you don’t think I’m a bad person. I love my brother more than anything.
submitted by FlyingRar to offmychest [link] [comments]
I guess for this to make sense, I have to start from the beginning. 24 years ago my twin brother and I were born. We are fraternal twins, I’m a girl and he’s a boy. Everything seemed fine when we were born, at least based off of what I’ve been told. We were about a month premature, but that’s pretty normal for twins. My brother had more issues than I did, but ultimately we were discharged from the hospital as healthy babies.
Things just went on from there. My mom had pretty severe postpartum depression according to her and my dad. My dad told me that she didn’t care for us at all because of the depression and that he did everything. I don’t hold that against her. I deal with pretty significant depression myself and know what it’s like. Anyway, I guess the depression subsided, and she got pregnant with my younger brother.
But when my brother and I were two, something happened that changed everything. My twin was diagnosed with severe autism. Now when I say servers autism, I mean severe. Unable to care for himself in any way, can’t read, barely able to communicate, very behavioral. The worst was the constant screaming. When I say constantly, I mean constantly. I can still hear it when I think about it. I high-pitched never ending scream. I know it’s not his fault, and I don’t blame him, so please don’t come at me.
Before I proceed any further, I want to get something out of the way. I love my twin brother more than anything. I would do anything for him. I know that he can’t help his autism. But just because I love him, doesn’t mean I can’t also recognize that his autism had a profound affect on me. People don’t realize how hard it is for the families of those with disabilities. They don’t realize how hard it is to see a loved one suffer like that. They don’t understand the agonizing guilt that comes along with it. They don’t understand how traumatizing it is to endure the constant screaming, the violent behaviors. To witness your parents feel so helpless and appear so sad and distraught all of the time. To see your brother pee and poop and throw up all over himself, scream, run around both in private and in public, and to have strangers yell at you and tell your parents that they are horrible parents for not being able to control their child, and then to see their parents cry because they are trying their best. To have your twin brother, pinch, tackle you, and pull your hair and not understand why. To see your twin brother hurt himself, and hurt others. To be deprived of attention at vital stages of development because your brother’s needs are so much more than yours. To have no one explain to you what is going on, so you end up blaming yourself, because he’s your twin brother. To feel like you need to be perfect and can’t have needs of your own because your parents are so overwhelmed by your brother, that you don’t want to cause any additional burdens for them. To see your mom become a shell of the person that she used to be because she blames herself for your twin’s autism and will never get over that. To see your dad become angry and turn to marijuana as a way to cope. All that being said, I know it’s not my brother’s fault, and I know the biggest victim of all of this is him. It breaks my heart that he has to deal with all that he has to deal with. I wish that I could take it all away from him. But I’ve had to accept that I really have no control over anything. Bed things just happen. At least that’s what I tell myself so I don’t blame myself.
Anyways, back to the story. My mom found out that my twin had autism while pregnant with my younger brother. A few months later my younger brother was born. Again, everything seemed fine. Until my younger brother didn’t talk until he was four. I think he was diagnosed with autism but my parents hid it from me. I think because they were in denial about it. But then he started talking at four. He got all the services, speech, OT, all those things. So did my twin brother. I didn’t get a lot of attention because my brother’s needs were so great. I felt unimportant and like I didn’t matter. When I did have a need, it wasn’t really focused on.
I developed severe anxiety from a young age. I think it was a mix of genetics and the stressful environment that I grew up in. Severe to the point where teachers noticed. But I didn’t get any help for it for a long time.
Fast forward to the summer before 6th grade. My twin’s behaviors became worse. The screaming was still constant. He would break things and he had been to around 5 different schools at that point. He wouldn’t sleep unless he was medicated. He would take an antipsychotic medication at night to help him sleep. It worked, but had side effects, like an insatiable appetite and weight gain. We had to lock the kitchen cabinets. My brother would also try to run away all the time, and sometimes was successful. One time my dad went out, and my mom was left with all three of us. She was never the one to care for my twin hands on, that was mainly my dad and me too sometimes. My brother ran away and we couldn’t find him anywhere. My mom had to call the police. They found my brother walking barefoot in the middle of the road. My mom was hysterical and yelling, and she barricaded the door with as much furniture as she could find. We ended up getting multiple locks on all of our doors. One time he ran away while I was watching him. I turned my back for one second and he was gone. We found him on his three wheeler in the middle of the road again. I could never have friends over because of my brother’s behavior. It was hard to focus on my homework or anything for that matter because of the constant screaming.
Anyway, the summer before sixth grade is when things started to get really hard. The anxiety morphed into something way worse. I had repetitive thoughts that bad things would happen and I had to do repetitive actions or else I thought the bad things would come true. I would later realize that this was OCD, but in the mean time I felt crazy and out of control. My parents would get angry at me when I would engage in the repetitive behaviors or ask for constant reassurance. I understand it was annoying, and they didn’t want to have another kid with problems, but I couldn’t help it. I was told that it was for attention. Honestly maybe it was a little bit, because I was so deprived of it, but them telling me that only hurt more. I didn’t understand why my brother’s problems got so much care and attention but mine were just met with anger. Anyway the OCD grew worse. I would have meltdowns because my thoughts were so horrible. My dad would get so angry. He would chase me up to my room and tackle me. He cut the head off of my favorite doll and cut up one of my favorite shirts. I got kicked in the tail bone once and couldn’t sit properly for like a week. He didn’t mean to kick me in the tailbone, only the squishy part. To be fair, I was impossible. Him doing what he did was the only thing to get me to stop. But it hurt. I felt so helpless, and like they didn’t understand.
Later that summer my parents finally took me to a psychiatrist. I got diagnosed with OCD and put on SSRIs, and things got better for a short while. But middle school was rough. I lost all my friends because I was acting out. Everyone thought I was weird, and I was. The OCD was more controlled, but still there. 8th grade came and I think that’s when the depression started to developed. That was the first time that I cut myself. Honestly, I did do it for attention. I desperately craved it, because I was so deprived of it. I desperately wanted someone to care about me. The only way I knew how to go about that was to show people that I was struggling. I saw my brother’s get attention for their struggles, and I thought that that was the only way to get people to care about me. I craved it from teachers. I tried to show them my arm, but make it look like ti was an accident. Like I kept my sleeve rolled up when they were near me. But they never noticed.
High school came, and that’s when things got really bad. My twin brother ended up having to go to a residential school because his behaviors became to hard to handle at home. This killed me. I thought it was my fault because we were twins. I thought I was the reason we were premature, and maybe I caused something at birth. I had this survivor’s guilt of sorts, like why him and not me? I became very depressed. My mom also became very depressed. I have memories of her in bed next to a bottle of benzos. Everyone fell apart. For years our whole family revolved around my twin, and now he was no longer at home.
I craved attention from teachers even more. I felt like a bad person for this, but I couldn’t help it. I tried to make myself look upset in front of them on purpose because I wanted them to ask if I was okay. Meanwhile, my parents called me an attention seeker when I would express my struggles. I became convinced that I was a bad person for being an attention seeker, but I also couldn’t help being one. My OCD harped on this, and I would obsess about this constantly. Getting attention was almost like a compulsion, but then when I would do things to get attention, I would feel incredibly guilty about it, and I absolutely hated and despised myself for this.
I started self harming a lot more, and I also started restricting my eating. I lost a lot of weight. My psychiatrist became worried about me. My parents told me I was an attention seeker and my mom made fun of me for my boobs getting smaller. My obsessions about needing attention but then also hating myself for it became stronger. My OCD became really bad again. I became su*cidal. I wanted to die. I couldn’t take it anymore. But I got good grades, I played Varsity soccer, and somehow functioned. I had to. I had to be the one that would be “normal”.
I got into an accelerated doctorate of physical therapy program at a prestigious school, because my grades were good. I told myself I would be a physical therapist and help people with Autism. I went to college, against the advice of my therapist and psychiatrist, because my parents said there was no other option. I had a mental breakdown.
My OCD became debilitating. I could barely even move without extreme difficulty because the compulsions were so intense. The obsessions were awful, and torturous. My grades were terrible. I failed out of the accelerated program because I couldn’t maintain the necessary GPA to stay in the program. I stayed in the university but under a health sciences major instead. I self harmed a lot. I wanted to die and was very close to an actually trying to do so. I had no friends. I had a guy who would sexually harass me, and a boyfriend who I didn’t even love. My parents wouldn’t let me leave school. My psychiatrist I was seeing there convinced them to let me go to a residential treatment place for OCD during the summer. I couldn’t stay the full length because it would interfere with school starting back up in the fall. But it was helpful for the time being. My compulsions were reduced a lot. The root cause of my obsessions weren’t traced though. I couldn’t tell anyone what it was. That I was so obsessed with needing attention. I was convinced that they would think that I was a bad person. I was in denial about it because I couldn’t face it.
So I left the place and went back to school hoping to have a better semester. But I had a breakdown within a few weeks of being there. I became suicidal and my parents forced my parents to take me home. They treated me like a failure. They were embarrassed to bring me places because they were embarrassed that I wasn’t in college like everybody else my age. It was torture being inside my brain. I ended up having to go to the mental hospital. I was tying stuff around my neck and screaming because the thoughts in my brain were torture. I didn’t want to be alive anymore. The OCD place accepted me back, and luckily insurance covered it. But it didn’t help this time. I was too far gone. I ended up in another mental hospital because I was going to take my own life. I was done. I saw no point. I thought I brought everyone pain. I was 19 years old and I did some really intense treatments that I am embarrassed to admit to. I would act out, try to hurt myself on the unit.
One day I was hysterically crying. A nurse came to talk to me. I told her I couldn’t take it, and that I wanted to die. She listened to me. Nobody every listened to me before. She told me that she had similar struggles to me and that she was able to get better and that I could to. This was the turning point for me. For the first time in my life, I believed that I could get better. The one day I met with the social worker there. She was questioning me about my destructive behaviors. I don’t know what allowed me to do it, but I admitted to her that I think I did these behaviors because I didn’t get a lot of attention growing up because of my twin brother. I had never told anyone that before. I thought she would think that I was a bad person but instead she told me that that made a lot of sense. I hadn’t yet uncovered how crummy my family situation was yet, and I hadn’t even fully admitted to myself that I was an attention seeker, but this was a huge step for me.
I ended up deciding that I wanted to be a nurse and help other people like the nurse that talked to me helped me. This was enough to give me a reason for wanting to live. That became my purpose until I could find one for myself. I was discharged from the hospital a little bit later.
Things were hard at first I was still su*cidal. I still had really bad obsessive thoughts, and thought of myself as a bad person. But I started seeing a really helpful therapist, and enrolled in nursing school, and things started to go in a positive direction.
I started to uncover a lot of trauma that I had been through. Not only the stuff from my twin brother, like the screaming and the behaviors, but also my family situation. My mom’s depression. The emotional abuse and neglect. The physical abuse that there was a little bit of. I realized that my OCD probably arose as a way to try to find some sense of control over a situation that felt so out of control.
I graduated nursing school, and got my first job as a nurse in September of 2023. I am having a hard time right now, but it does help to think of how far I’ve come. I still have really bad anxiety and obsessive thoughts. I still have pretty significant attention. The trauma that I experienced still impacts a whole lot of aspects of my every day life. The way I interact with people. It’s hard for me to have friendships. I don’t have any friends right now. I still feel this survivor’s guilt about my twin. Why him and not me. I am starting to realize it’s not my fault though.
Sometimes I feel like a failure. I’m 24 years old. I only have an associates degree (I am going to work toward obtaining my bachelors in July). I still live at home (I’m trying to save up). I have all these mental problems. I’ve gained a lot of weight because of the medications that I take. I still give into a lot of attention seeking urges, although not as much. I feel less bad about it though, because at least I know I developed those urges for a reason. Work is really hard. I work on a med-surg floor, and it’s really difficult. I am know as the anxious one by the people I work with. I’ve never really had a fulfilling romantic relationship. My room is a mess. Work causes me so much anxiety that I sometimes dread going in. I plan on switching to psychiatric nursing after I reach the one year mark. I still have 4 months to go. I hope that that will be easier for me. I feel like a failure. I know I have overcome a lot, but I still have a long way to go. Sometimes I feel like I will never get over what I’ve been through. Nobody understands, and sometimes I just feel disconnected by people. Sometimes I wonder how my life would have turned out if my brother never had autism. Would it be different? I feel bad thinking that. I am happy that I ended up being a nurse now and that I can help other people. I don’t know if that would have happened if it weren’t for what I’ve been through.
Anyways, that’s my story. I left some things out because it’s impossible to say everything. I hope you don’t think I’m a bad person. I love my brother more than anything.
2024.05.27 21:39 nahimavegan (Selling) Huge List Of 1100+ Movies! Lots Of New And Rare Titles!
**Prices firm, but I take off $1.00 for every $10 spent (multiple items)*\*
**I accept PayPal, Venmo, & Cashapp*\*
**Codes are always split/dual portion where applicable, & have no DMI*\*
**Only redeem the portion you pay for!*\*
Birds of Prey HD/MA $3.5
Scoob! HD/MA $3.5
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines HD/MA $3.5
New additions
2000s 10-Film Bundle (The Departed 4K, I Am Legend 4K, Pan's Labyrinth 4K, The Hangover 4K, A History of Violence HD, Best in Show HD, A.I. Artificial Intelligence HD, Mystic River HD, Ocean's Eleven HD, Letters from Iwo Jima HD) HD/MA $30
48 Hrs HD/VU $6
65 HD/MA $4.5 or SD/MA $2.5
80 for Brady HD/VU $5
976-Evil HD/MA $5.5
A League of Their Own 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
A Monster Calls HD/MA $3
A Most Violent Year HD/VU $4.5
A Simple Favor HD/VU $4
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter HD/MA $3.5
Addams Family '19 4K/IT $4.5
Afflicted HD/MA $4
Aliens 4K/MA $6.5
Almost Famous 4K/VU $5
American Psycho 4K/VU $5.5
American Society of Magical Negroes HD/VU $9.5
Angels & Demons 4K/MA $6
Ant-Man & the Wasp Quantumania HD/MA $5.5
Anyone But You HD/MA $7.5
Aquaman & the Lost Kingdom HD/MA $7
Armageddon Time HD/MA $4.5
As Good as it Gets 4K/MA $6
Asteroid City 4K/MA $6.5
Atlantis Lost Empire HD/MA $5
Atlantis Milo's Return HD/GP $4.5
Avatar The Way of Water HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Back to the Future Trilogy HD/MA $10
Bad Boys 4K/MA $5.5
Bad Boys for Life 4K/MA $5.5
Bad Guys HD/MA $4.5
Bambi HD/MA $4
Banshees of Inisherin HD/GP $3.5
Barbie HD/MA $6
Battle for Terra HD/VU $4.5
Beast HD/MA $4.5
Beguiled HD/IT $3
Beyond Re-Animator HD/VU $4
Big Chill 4K/MA $5.5
Big Eyes HD/VU $4
Billy Lynn’s Long Half Time Walk HD/MA $4
Black Adam 4K/MA $5.5
Black Phone HD/MA $4
Blockers HD/MA $3.5
Blood Father HD/VU $3
Bloodshot HD/MA $4
Body Double 4K/MA $5.5
Boogeyman HD/MA $5.5
Book Club Next Chapter HD/MA $5
Book of Life HD/MA $3.5
Bridget Jones’s Diary HD/VU or IT $4
Broken Hearts Gallery HD/VU $4.5
Bros HD/MA $4.5
Bullet Train 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Burrowers HD/VU $4
Call Jane HD/VU $4.5
Cannibal Cabin 4K/VU $5
Charlie's Angels '00 4K/MA $5.5
Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke HD/VU or IT $3.5
Christmas Classics 4-Film Set (Miracle on 34th Street '94, A Christmas Carol '84, Home Alone, Jingle all the Way) HD/MA $12
Cinderella '15 HD/MA $3.5
Cinderella '50 HD/MA $4.5
Cobweb 4K/VU $7.5
Cocaine Bear HD/MA $5
Colossal HD/VU or IT $4
Contagion 4K/MA $6.5
Creature from the Black Lagoon '54 HD/MA $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Creed 3 4K/MA $6.5
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 4K/MA $6
Counselor HD/MA $4
Da Vinci Code 4K/MA $6
Dagon HD/VU $4
Dark Skies HD/VU $3.5
Dear David 4K/VU $6
Dear White People HD/VU $3.5
Den of Thieves HD/IT $3
Devil's Workshop 4K/VU $5.5
Devil's Workshop HD/VU $4.5
Devotion 4K/VU $6 or HD/VU $4.5
Diary of the Dead HD/VU $4
Dig 4K/VU $5.5
District 9 / Elysium Bundle HD/MA $7.5
Dora & the Lost City of Gold HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Dragon Blade HD/VU $3.5
Dr. Strangelove 4K/MA $5
Dragonheart 5-Film Set HD/MA $13
Dreamland HD/VU $4.5
Dream Scenario HD/VU $7
Drive HD/MA $4
Dumb Money HD/MA $6
Dune Part 2 HD/MA $9
Easy Rider 4K/MA $6
Emperor HD/VU $3.5
Equalizer 3 4K/MA $7 or HD/MA $5.5
Equalizer Trilogy 4K/MA $15
Escape Plan HD/VU $2.5
Evil Dead '13 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Evil Dead Rise 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
Evil Under The Sun HD/VU $4
Exorcist (2-cuts) 4K/VU $6.5
Exorcist Believer 4K/MA $7 or HD/MA $5.5
Expendables 1-3 Set 4K/MA $10 or HD/VU $7
Expendables 1-4 Set 4K/VU $15 or HD/VU $11
Fall 4K/VU $6 or HD/VU $4.5
Fast & the Furious 10-film Set 4K/MA $30 or HD/MA $22
Fast X HD/MA $5
Feast (Unr) HD/VU $4
Fifth Element 4K/MA $5.5
Fifty Shades 6-Cut Set (Thea & Unr) HD/MA $12
First Purge HD/MA $3.5
Five Nights at Freddy's HD/MA $6
Fool's Paradise HD/VU $6
Force of Nature '20 HD/VU $3.5
Forger HD/VU $3
Forrest Gump HD/VU $4
Freeheld HD/VU $4
Friendsgiving HD/VU $4
Front Runner HD/MA $4
Frozen '10 HD/VU $4
Funny Girl 4K/MA $5.5
Gandhi 4K/MA $5.5
Gateway 4K/VU $5.5
Gattaca 4K/MA $6
Ghostbusters Afterlife HD/MA $4
Ghoulies Go To College HD/VU $3.5
Glory 4K/MA $6
Godfather 3 Coda HD/VU $4
Godzilla '98 HD/MA $4
Good Boys HD/MA $3.5
Good House 4K/VU $5.5
Goodnight Mommy HD/VU $4
Goosebumps 2 HD/MA $3
Gran Turismo 4K/MA $7 or HD/MA $5.5
Grand Budapest Hotel HD/MA $4
Grease Trilogy HD/VU or IT $9
Green Knight 4K/VU $5
Green Room HD/VU $4
Groundhog Day 4K/MA $5.5
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 HD/MA $5.5
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 4K/MA $6
Hail, Caesar! HD/VU or IT $2.5
Hammett HD/VU $4
Halloween Ends HD/MA $4.5
Halloween Kills (Ext) HD/MA $4.5
Halloween Trilogy (2018, Kills, Ends) 4K/MA $15
Harriet 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
Hex 4K/VU $5.5
High Tension HD/VU $4.5
Hellbenders HD/VU $4
Hellraiser: Judgment HD/VU $4
Hobbs & Shaw HD/MA $4
Home Alone 1 & 2 Set HD/MA $6.5
Hook 4K/MA $6
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Hotel Transylvania 2 HD/MA $3.5
How to Train Your Dragon HD/MA $4
How to Train Your Dragon Hidden World HD/MA $3.5
Hunger Games 4-Film Set 4K/VU $15
Hustlers 4K/IT $4.5
Ice Age Continental Drift HD/MA $3
I, Frankenstein HD/VU or IT $3
I Saw the Light HD/MA $4
Ice Age HD/MA $3.5
Identity Thief HD/IT $3.5
If Beale Street Could Talk HD/MA $4
Imaginary HD/VU $9
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade HD/VU $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Inhabitant HD/VU $4.5
Insidious 4K/MA $5.5
Insidious The Last Key HD/MA $3.5
Insidious Red Door HD/MA $5
Iron Claw HD/VU $6.5
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot HD/VU $3.5
Jaws 2 4K/MA $5
Jerry Maguire 4K/MA $6
Jesus Revolution HD/VU $4.5
John Wick 4 4K/VU $6.5
John Wick 4-Film Collection HD/VU $13
Journey to Bethlehem HD/MA $5.5
Jumanji '95 4K/MA $6
Jungle Book '67 HD/MA $4
Jurassic World 6-film Set HD/MA $18
Jurassic World Dominion (Thea & Ext) HD/MA $5
Kandahar HD/MA $5.5
Karate Kid '84 4K/MA $6
Kiss the Girls 4K/VU $6
Knights of the Zodiac HD/MA $5
Kramer vs Kramer 4K/MA $6
Last Action Hero 4K/MA $5.5
Last Christmas HD/MA $4.5
Last Night in Soho 4K/MA $5.5
Lawless HD/VU $4
Leprechaun 8-Film Set HD/VU $15
Liar Liar HD/MA or IT $4
Licorice Pizza 4K/IT $5
Little Mermaid '23 HD/MA $5
Long Shot HD/VU $4
Lost Boys 4K/MA $6
Love Again SD/MA $2.5
Lucky Number Slevin HD/VU $4.5
M3GAN (Thea & Unr) HD/MA $5
Ma '19 HD/MA $4
Madame Web HD/MA $8
Mamma Mia Here We Go Again HD/MA $3
Manchester by the Sea HD/VU or IT $4
Manodrome HD/VU $5.5
Marsh King's Daughter 4K/VU $5.5
Martyrs HD/VU $4.5
May HD/VU $4
Mean Girls '24 HD/VU $9
Meg 2 4K/MA $7
Memories of Murder 4K/MA $6.5
Menu HD/GP $3.5
Meryl Streep 8-Film Set HD/MA $22
MIB International HD/MA $4
Mickey's Christmas Carol HD/MA $4
Midnight Meat Train (Unr) HD/VU $4
Miller's Girl 4K/VU $8.5
Miracle on 34th Street HD/MA $4
Missing HD/MA $5
Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Pt 1 4K/VU $7.5
Mist 4K/VU $6.5
Mitchells vs the Machines HD/MA $4.5
Monster High Electrified HD/MA or IT $2.5
Moonfall 4K/VU $4.5
Moonrise Kingdom HD/MA $4
Mortal Kombat Legends Cage Match HD/MA $5.5
Mr. Holmes HD/VU $3.5
Mulan '98 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 HD/MA $5.5
My Girl 4K/MA $6
National Champions 4K/IT $5
New Mutants HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Night at the Museum Secret of the Tomb HD/MA $3
Night Swim HD/MA $8
Night Train to Lisbon HD/VU $4
No Good Deed HD/MA $3
No Hard Feelings HD/MA $5.5
Nope HD/MA $4.5
Nun 2 HD/MA $5.5
Ocean's Trilogy 4K/MA $16
Old 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
Office Space HD/MA $4.5
Oppenheimer HD/MA $6
Other Side of the Door HD/MA $4
Out Of The Blue HD/VU $4
Overlord 4K/VU or IT $4.5
ParaNorman HD/IT $4
Parental Guidance HD/MA $2.5
Parents HD/VU $4
Parasite HD/MA $4
Paw Patrol Mighty Movie HD/VU $6.5
Pet Sematary Bloodlines HD/VU $5.5
Peter Pan Return to Neverland HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Philadelphia 4K/MA $5.5
Pick 1 (Black Christmas '18 4K, Dog's Purpose 4K, Sparks Brothers 4K, Raw, Agnes Bourne, Antz, Being Frank, Loving, Don't Let Go, Kicks, Final Account) HD/MA $4
Pinocchio '40 HD/MA $4
Pitch Perfect 3 4K/MA $5
Pixels HD/MA $3
Plane 4K/VU $5.5
Poor Things HD/MA $7.5
Pope's Exorcist HD/MA $5
Prey for the Devil 4K/VU $5.5
Priscilla HD/VU $6
Punch-Drunk Love 4K/MA $6.5
Purge 4-Film Set HD/MA $12
Queen & Slim HD/MA $4
Quick & the Dead '95 4K/MA $6
Rambo First Blood HD/VU $4
Rambo First Blood Pt 2 HD/VU $4
Rango HD/VU $3
Real Genius 4K/MA $5.5
Red Rocket HD/VU $4
Red Sparrow HD/MA $3.5
Renfield HD/MA $5.5
Requin HD/VU $4.5
Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City HD/MA $4
Robin Hood '73 HD/MA $4
Rosemary's Baby 4K/VU $6.5
Rhythm Section HD/VU $3.5
Ruby Gilman Teenage Kraken HD/MA $5.5
Rudy (Dir Cut) 4K/MA $6.5
Rudy 4K/MA $6
Run Lola Run 4K/MA $6.5
Saint Maud HD/VU $4
Samurai Jack Complete Series HD/VU $40
Saw 8-film Set (Unr except Jigsaw) HD/VU $20
Secret Life of Walter Mitty HD/MA $3.5
Shaun of the Dead HD/MA $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Shaun the Sheep HD/VU $3.5
Shrek 6-Film Set (1-4, Musical, Puss in Boots) HD/MA $19
Skiptrace HD/VU $3.5
Scorpion King 4-Film Set (1, 3, 4, Book of Souls) HD/MA $12
Scream 3 4K/VU $5.5
Scream 5 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Scream 6 4K/VU $7 or HD/VU $5.5
Sharktopus HD/VU $3.5
Shazam 2-film Set HD/MA $8
Shazam Fury of the Gods 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
She Said HD/MA $4.5
She's the Man HD/VU $3.5
Sin City HD/VU $4
Silver Linings Playbook HD/VU $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Sisu 4K/VU $6
Sixteen Candles HD/MA $3.5 or HD/IT $3.5
Sleepless in Seattle 4K/MA $6
Smile HD/VU $4.5
Social Network 4K/MA $6
Sometimes They Come Back...Again HD/VU $4
Sometimes They Come Back...For More HD/VU $3.5
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 4K/VU $5.5
Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse 4K/MA $7 or HD/MA $5.5
Split HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Spoiler Alert HD/MA $5
Spy (Unr) HD/MA $3
Star Wars A New Hope HD/MA $4
Starship Troopers 4K/MA $6
Step Brothers 4K/MA $6.5
Stillwater HD/MA $4
Studio 666 HD/MA $5
Sum of All Fears 4K/VU $5
Supercell HD/VU $4.5
Super Mario Bros Movie HD/MA $5
Superfly HD/MA $4
Suspiria (2018) HD/VU $4
T2 Trainspotting 4K/MA $6
Talk to Me 4K/VU $6
Talladega Nights 4K/MA $6.5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out of the Shadows HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Thanksgiving 4K/MA $7.5
The Batman 4K/MA $5.5
The Bay HD/VU $4
The Color Purple '23 4K/MA $8 or HD/MA $6.5
The Creator HD/MA $6
The Descent (Unr) HD/VU $4.5
The Flash HD/MA $5
The Last Dragon 4K/MA $5.5
The Natural 4K/MA $6
The Other Guys 4K/MA $6
The Professional (Ext) 4K/MA $6
The Space Between Us HD/MA $4
The Super '17 HD/VU $4
Ticket to Paradise HD/MA $4.5
Titanic 4K/VU or IT $6 or HD/VU $4.5
Top Gun Maverick HD/VU $4
Toy Story 3 HD/MA $4
Trading Places 4K/VU $6
Transformers Rise of the Beasts 4K/MA $7 or HD/VU $5.5
Trolls 3-Film Collection HD/MA $12
Trolls Band Together HD/MA $6.5
Tusk HD/VU $4.5
Umma HD/MA $4.5
Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 4K/VU $5
Underwater HD/MA $4.5
Unfriended HD/MA $4
Universal Monsters 4-Film Set 4K/MA $17
Up '09 HD/MA $4.5
V for Vendetta 4K/MA $6.5
Vanilla Sky HD/VU $5.5
Velvet Goldmine HD/VU $4.5
Venture Bros Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart HD/MA $5.5
Violent Night HD/MA $5
Walking Dead Season 9 HD/VU $7
Watchmen Ultimate Cut 4K/MA $7.5
Waxwork 2 HD/VU $3.5
We Summon the Darkness HD/VU $4.5
Welcome to Marwen HD/MA $4.5
Welcome to Monster High HD/MA or IT $3
Whiplash 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
White House Down HD/MA $3.5
Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance w/ Somebody HD/MA $4
Wicker Man 4K/VU $5.5
Wish HD/MA $7
Witch HD/VU $3.5
Woman King 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $4
Woman Walks Ahead HD/VU $4
You're Next HD/VU $3.5
X-Men 1-4 Set SD/MA $7.5
Zombieland Double Tap HD/MA $4
All other movies (A-Z)
10 Cloverfield Lane HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
101 Dalmatians '61 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
13 Hours HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
14 Blades HD/VU $3.5
1917 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
2 Guns 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA or IT $2.5
21 Jump Street HD/MA $3
22 Jump Street HD/MA $3.5
3 Extremes HD/VU $4
3 From Hell (Unr) 4K/VU $4 or HD/VU $2.5
3:10 to Yuma 4K/VU $5
31 HD/VU $2.5
47 Meters Down HD/IT $3.5
47 Meters Down Uncaged 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
47 Ronin HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
600 Miles HD/VU $3.5
71 HD/VU $3.5
A Christmas Story 4K/MA $6
A Dog's Purpose HD/IT $3
A Good Day to Die Hard (Ext) HD/VU $2.5
A Journal For Jordan HD/MA $4
A Quiet Place HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
A Walk Among the Tombstones HD/IT $3.5
A Wrinkle in Time HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
A.C.O.D. HD/IT $3.5
Abominable 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
About Last Night HD/MA $3
Ad Astra HD/MA $4
Adaptation 4K/MA $6
Adverse 4K/VU $5
After Earth HD/MA $3
Aftermath HD/VU $3
Air Force One 4K/MA $6
Aladdin ‘19 HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Aladdin ‘92 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Alien HD/MA $4
Alien Covenant HD/MA $2.5
Alfred Hitchcock 4-Film Set Vol 1 4K/MA $18
Alfred Hitchcock 5-Film Set Vol 2 4K/MA $21
Alien 6-film Set HD/MA $16
Alita Battle Angel 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
All Eyez on Me HD/VU or IT $3
All is Lost HD/VU $3.5
All the Money in the World HD/MA $3.5
Allied HD/VU or IT $3.5
Amazing Spider-Man 2 HD/MA $3.5 or SD/MA $1.5
Amazing Spider-Man HD/MA $3.5 or SD/MA $1.5
American Assassin 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
American Hustle HD/MA $3.5
American Ultra HD/VU or IT $4
American Underdog 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Anatomy of a Murder 4K/MA $5
Anchorman 2 HD/VU or IT $2.5
Angel Has Fallen 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Angel Heart 4K/VU $5.5
Angel of Mine 4K/VU $5.5
Angry Birds Movie HD/MA $3.5
Anna Karenina HD/IT $3.5
Annie ‘14 HD/MA $3.5
Annihilation HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Antebellum 4K/VU $5
Antlers HD/GP $3
Ant-Man & the Wasp HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Ant-Man HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Apache Junction HD/VU $3.5
Apollo 13 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Arctic HD/MA $4
Arrival HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Art of Self-Defense HD/MA $4
Assassination Nation HD/MA $3.5
Assassin's Creed HD/MA $3
Assignment HD/VU $4
Atomic Blonde 4K/IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
August Osage County HD/VU $3
Avengers Age of Ultron HD/GP $3
Avengers Endgame HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Avengers Infinity War 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Baby Driver HD/MA $4
Backdraft 4K/IT $5.5
Bad Grandpa HD/VU or IT $2.5
Bad Words HD/MA or IT $3
Bandslam HD/VU $4
Bank Job HD/VU $3.5
Barb & Star go to Vista Del Mar HD/VU $4
Barbie & Her Sisters in the Great Puppy Adventure HD/IT $3.5
Bart Got a Room HD/VU $4
Battle Royale HD/VU $4.5
Battleship 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Beauty & the Beast ‘17 HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Beauty & the Beast ‘91 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Bedknobs & Broomsticks HD/GP $3.5
Before I Fall HD/VU or IT $3.5
Begin Again HD/VU $3.5
Beiruit HD/MA $3.5
Belly 4K/VU $5.5
Ben-Hur ‘16 HD/VU $3.5
Between Worlds HD/VU $3.5
Big Hero 6 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Big Lebowski 4K/MA or IT $5.5
Big Short HD/VU $3.5
Big Wedding HD/VU or IT $3
Billy Elliot HD/MA or IT $4
Birdman HD/MA $4
Black & Blue HD/MA $4
Black Christmas '19 HD/MA $4.5
Black Panther 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Black Panther Wakanda Forever HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
BlackKklansman HD/MA $4.5
Blacklight HD/MA $4
Black Widow HD/GP $3
Blackhat HD/IT $3.5
Blair Witch Project ‘99 HD/VU $4
Bleeding Steel HD/VU $3.5
Blindspotting 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Blood Money ‘17 HD/VU $3.5
Blood Ties HD/VU $3.5
Blue Jasmine HD/MA $3.5
Blue Ruin HD/VU $4
Blues Brothers HD/MA $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Bob's Burgers Movie HD/GP $3
Body Cam HD/VU $4
Bohemian Rhapsody 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Bombshell 4K/VU $5
Book of Life HD/MA $3.5
Boss Baby HD/MA $2.5
Bourne Identity 4K/IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Bourne Legacy HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Bourne Supremacy HD/MA $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Bourne Ultimatum 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Boy ‘16 HD/IT $3.5
Boy & the World HD/IT $3.5
Braven HD/VU $4
Breakfast Club HD/MA or IT $4
Breakthrough HD/MA $3
Brian Banks HD/MA $3
Bridge of Spies HD/GP $3.5
Brothers Bloom HD/VU $4.5
Bumblebee 4K/VU or IT $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Butler HD/VU $3
Cabin in the Woods HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Cake HD/MA $4
Call of Wild 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Calvary HD/MA $4
Candyman '20 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
Candyman 3 HD/VU $4
Captain America Civil War HD/GP $2.5
Captain America First Avenger HD/GP $3.5
Captain America Winter Soldier HD/GP $3.5
Captain Marvel 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Captain Phillips HD/MA $3.5
Captain Underpants First Epic Movie HD/MA $2.5
Carol HD/VU $4
Cars 3 HD/GP $2.5
Casablanca 4K/MA $5.5
Case for Christ HD/MA or IT $2.5
Casper HD/IT $4
Celebrating Mickey HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Chaos Walking 4K/VU $5
Chappaquiddick HD/VU $4
Chasing Mavericks HD/MA $3.5
Chicago HD/VU $4
Child 44 HD/VU $4
Children ‘08 HD/VU $4
Christopher Robin HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Clerks 3 4K/VU $4.5
Clifford the Big Red Dog HD/VU $4
Cloverfield 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Coco HD/GP $2.5
Cold Pursuit 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Collection HD/VU $3.5
Collide ‘17 HD/VU or IT $2.5
Colma The Musical HD/VU $4
Colombiana (Unr) HD/MA $4
Colony 4K/VU $5
Come & Find Me HD/VU $4
Commuter 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Company of Heroes HD/MA $4
Conspirator HD/VU $4
Contraband HD/IT $3
Contractor HD/VU $4.5
Cooler HD/VU $4
Cool Hand Luke 4K/MA $5.5
Cooties HD/VU $4
Cotton Club Encore 4K/VU $5.5
Countdown ‘16 HD/VU $3.5
Courier 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Craft Legacy HD/MA $4.5
Criminal HD/VU or IT $3
Croods HD/VU $3.5
Cruella HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Crypto 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Daddy's Home HD/IT $2.5
Daddy's Home 2 HD/VU or IT $3
Damsel HD/VU $4.5
Dangerous 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Danny Collins HD/IT $3.5
Dark Crimes HD/VU $4
Darkest Minds HD/MA $4
Dark Places HD/VU $4
Dark Tower HD/MA $3.5
Darkest Hour ‘17 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes HD/MA $3.5
Deadpool 2 (w/Super Duper Cut) HD/MA $4
Deadpool HD/MA $2.5
Death of Me HD/VU $4
Death on the Nile HD/GP $3
Death Wish '18 HD/VU $3
Deepwater Horizon HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Deliver Us From Evil HD/MA $3.5
Dentist 2-Film Set HD/VU $7
Despicable Me 2 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Despicable Me 3 4K/MA or IT $4.5
Despicable Me 4K/MA or IT $4.5
Detroit HD/MA $3.5
Devil Inside HD/VU $3.5
Devil's Due HD/MA $3.5
Die Hard HD/MA $3.5
Die Hard 5-film Set HD/MA $18
Die in a Gunfight 4K/VU $5
Dirty Dancing 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Disney Animated Short Films Set HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Disneynature Monkey Kingdom HD/MA $3
Django Unchained HD/VU $3
Doctor Strange HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness HD/GP $3
Dolittle HD/MA $3.5
Dom Hemingway HD/MA $3.5
Don Verdean HD/VU $4.5
Doorman HD/VU $3.5
Doors 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Downsizing HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Downton Abbey A New Era HD/MA $4
Downton Abbey The Movie HD/MA $3.5
Draft Day HD/IT $3.5
Dragged Across Concrete HD/VU $3.5
Dragonslayer 4K/VU $5.5
Dream a Little Dream HD/VU $4
Dreamkatcher HD/VU $4
Dreamworks 10-Film HD/MA $25
Dredd 4K/VU $4 or HD/VU $2.5
Dying of the Light HD/VU $2.5
E.T. Extra Terrestrial 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Early Man 4K/VU $5.5
Earth Girls are Easy HD/VU $4
Eddie the Eagle HD/MA $4
Edge of Seventeen HD/IT $3
Edward Scissorhands HD/MA $3.5
El Chicano HD/MA $4
Elysium HD/MA $3.5
Emoji Movie HD/MA $3
Empire of Light HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Empire State HD/VU $3
Encanto 4K/GP $3.5
Enough Said HD/MA $3.5
Enter the Dragon 4K/MA $6
Epic HD/MA $3
Equalizer HD/MA $3.5
Equalizer 2 HD/MA $3.5
Escape From Planet Earth HD/VU $3
Eternals HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Everest HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Everything Must Go HD/VU $4
Evil Dead 2 HD/VU $3.5
Ex Machina HD/VU $3
Exodus Gods & Kings HD/MA $3.5
Expired 4K/VU $4.5
Fair Game (Dir) HD/VU $4
Fantastic Four ‘15 HD/MA $4
Fast & Furious 4 4K/MA $5
Fast & the Furious 8-film Set HD/MA $17
Fast & the Furious 9-film Set HD/MA $19
Fast Color 4K/VU $5.5
Fatale ‘20 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Fatherhood HD/MA $4
Fault in Our Stars HD/MA $3.5
Fear of Rain 4K/VU $5.5
Fences HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Ferdinand HD/MA $3.5
Field of Dreams 4K/MA or IT $5.5
Fifty Shades Darker (Unr) HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Fifty Shades Freed HD/MA $4
Fifty Shades of Grey (Unr) 4K/MA or IT $4
Finding Dory HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Finding Nemo HD/GP $3.5
Finest Hours HD/GP $3
Firm 4K/VU $6
First Man HD/MA $4
Flashback ‘20 HD/VU $4
Flight HD/VU or IT $3
Florence Foster Jenkins HD/VU or IT $3
Footloose ‘11 HD/IT $3
Forbidden Kingdom HD/VU $4.5
Ford v Ferrari HD/MA $4
Forest HD/IT $3.5
Forever My Girl HD/IT $3
Fortress HD/VU $3.5
Fortress Sniper's Eye HD/VU $3.5
Fox & the Hound 2 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Foxcatcher HD/MA $4
Frank & Lola HD/VU or IT $3
Free Guy HD/GP $3
French Dispatch HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Friday the 13th 4K/VU $5.5
From Here to Eternity 4K/MA $5.5
Frozen (Sing-Along) HD/MA $2 or HD/GP $1.5
Frozen HD/GP $2
Frozen 2 HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Frozen Ground ‘13 HD/VU $3.5
Fury HD/MA $3.5
Future World HD/VU $3.5
G.I. Joe Retaliation HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Gambit ‘12 HD/MA $4
Gambler HD/VU or IT $3
Gamer 4K/VU $5.5
Gemini Man 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Get Out 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Ghost in the Shell ‘17 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Ghost in the Shell ‘95 4K/VU $5
Ghost Team One HD/VU or IT $3.5
Ghostbusters ‘84 HD/MA $3.5
Ghostbusters (Thea & Ext) ‘16 HD/MA $3
Ghostbusters 2 HD/MA $3.5
Gifted HD/MA $3
Girl on Train HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Girl w/ All Gifts HD/VU $4
Giver HD/VU $3.5
Glass Castle 4K/VU $5.5
Glass HD/MA $4
God Bless The Broken Road HD/VU $3.5
God's Not Dead 2 HD/MA or IT $2.5
God's Not Dead 3 HD/MA $3
Gods of Egypt HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Gold ‘16 HD/VU $2.5
Good Dinosaur HD/GP $2.5
Good Kill HD/VU or IT $3.5
Grease 2 HD/VU $4
Great Wall 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Greatest Showman HD/MA $3.5
Green Book HD/MA $4
Grey HD/VU or IT $3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 HD/GP $2
Guilt Trip HD/VU or IT $3
Gunman HD/MA or IT $3
Guns of Navarone 4K/MA $5.5
Hacksaw Ridge 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Halloween ‘18 HD/MA $3
Hammer of the Gods HD/VU $2
Hannibal S.1 HD/VU $5
Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters (Unr) HD/VU or IT $3
Hard Luck Love Song 4K/VU $5.5
Hard Target 2 HD/IT $1.5
Hardcore Henry HD/VU or IT $3.5
Hate U Give HD/MA $4
Hateful Eight HD/VU $3.5
Heat (Director's Cut) ‘95 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Heaven is for Real HD/MA $3.5
Hercules ‘14 HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Here Comes the Boom HD/MA $3.5
Hereditary HD/VU $3.5
Hidden Figures HD/MA $3
High Note HD/MA $4
Highlander 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Hitchcock '12 HD/MA $4
Hitman Agent 47 HD/MA $3
Hitman's Bodyguard HD/VU $3.5
Hocus Pocus HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Home HD/MA $3
Home Again HD/MA $3
Home Alone 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Homefront HD/MA or IT $3
Homesman HD/VU $3
Honey 2 HD/VU $3
Hostiles 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Hotel Transylvania 3 HD/MA $3.5
Hot Fuzz HD/VU $4
Hotel Mumbai HD/MA $4
Hours ‘13 HD/VU $4
House of 1000 Corpses HD/VU $4
House of Gucci 4K/IT $5.5
House w/ a Clock in Its Walls sHD/MA $4
How to Train Your Dragon 2 HD/MA $2.5
Hugo HD/VU $3
Hunt for Red October 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Huntsman Winter's War (Ext) HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
I Can Only Imagine HD/VU $3.5
I Feel Pretty HD/IT $2
Ides of March HD/MA $4
I Know What You Did Last Summer 4K/MA $5.5
Imitation Game HD/VU $3
In a Valley of Violence HD/IT $3
In Secret ‘14 HD/VU $4.5
In the Blood HD/VU $4
Incredibles 2 HD/GP $3
Independence Day ‘96 HD/MA $4
Independence Day Resurgence HD/MA $2.5
Indiana Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K/VU or IT $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom 4K/VU or IT $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Indignation HD/VU $4
Indivisible HD/MA $3.5
Inferno HD/MA $3
Initiation 4K/VU $5
Initiation HD/VU $3.5
Internship HD/MA $3
Interstellar 4K/VU or IT $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Interview HD/MA $3.5
Into the Woods HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Invisible Man '20 HD/MA $3.5
Invisible Man ‘33 HD/MA $3.5
Iron Man 3 HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Iron Man & Hulk Heroes United HD/GP $3.5
Iron Mask ‘19 HD/VU $4.5
It Follows HD/VU $3.5
It's a Wonderful Life HD/VU $3
Jack & Jill HD/MA $3.5
Jack Reacher 4K/IT $4.5
Jack Reacher Never Go Back HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit 4K/IT $4 or HD/VU $2.5
Jacob's Ladder HD/VU $4
Jane Got a Gun HD/VU $4
Jason Bourne HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Jesus Music HD/VU $3.5
Jexi HD/VU $3.5
Jobs HD/MA or IT $3.5
Joe HD/VU $3.5
Joe Kidd HD/IT $4
John Wick 1 & 2 Bundle HD/VU $4
John Wick 3 Parabellum 4K/VU $4.5
John Wick Chapter 2 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
John Wick HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
John Wick Trilogy 4K/VU $13 or HD/VU (#3 4K) $9 or all HD/VU $8
Journey to the West Conquering the Demons HD/VU $3.5
Joy HD/MA $3
Judy 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Juliet, Naked 4K/VU $5.5
Jumanji Welcome To The Jungle HD/MA $2.5
Jungle Book ‘16 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Jungle Cruise HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Jurassic Park 3 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Jurassic Park 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Jurassic World 5-film Set HD/MA $14
Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Kama Sutra HD/VU $4
Kick-Ass 2 HD/MA $3.5
Kid ‘19 HD/VU $3.5
Kid Who Would Be King 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Kill Zone ‘05 HD/VU $4.5
Killer Elite HD/IT $3
Killing Gunther HD/VU $4
Kin ‘18 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
King Kong ‘05 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
King of Staten Island HD/MA $4
King's Man HD/GP $3.5
Kingsman The Golden Circle HD/MA $3
Kingsman The Secret Service HD/MA $3.5
Knives Out HD/VU $3.5 s Knowing 4K/VU $5.5
La La Land HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Labor Day HD/VU or IT $3
Lady Macbeth HD/VU $4.5
Lady of the Manor 4K/VU $5
Lair of White Worm HD/VU $4.5
Lake Mungo HD/VU $4
Lara Croft Tomb Raider 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Last Dragon HD/MA $4.5
Last Duel HD/GP $3.5
Last Exorcism HD/VU $4
Last Knights HD/VU $3.5
Last Man ‘19 HD/VU $4
Last Vegas HD/VU $3
Last Witch Hunter 4K/IT $3.5
Lawrence of Arabia 4K/MA $5.5
Legends of Oz Dorothy's Return HD/MA $3.5
Leprechaun 7-film Set HD/VU $12
Let's be Cops HD/MA $3.5
Let Him Go HD/MA $4
Life ‘17 HD/MA $3.5
Life of Crime HD/VU $3.5
Life of Pi 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA or IT $3.5
Light of My Life HD/IT $3.5
Lightyear HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Like a Boss HD/VU $3.5
Lilo & Stitch 2 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Lion HD/VU $4
Lion King ‘19 4K/MA $4 or HD/GP $2
Lion King ‘94 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Little HD/MA $3.5
Little Mermaid ‘89 HD/MA $4
Live Free or Die Hard HD/MA $4
Locked Down 4K/MA $5.5
Logan HD/MA $3
Logan Lucky HD/MA $3.5 or /IT $4
Lone Ranger HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Lone Survivor HD/VU $2.5
Longest Week HD/VU $3.5
Looper HD/MA $3.5
Lorax HD/MA or IT $3
Lord of War 4K/VU $5.5
Lords of Salem HD/VU $4
Lost World Jurassic Park HD/MA $3.5
Love & Mercy HD/VU $3.5
Love the Coopers HD/VU or IT $4
Love, Simon HD/MA $3.5
Loving HD/VU or IT $3.5
Luca HD/GP $3
Lucy 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile HD/MA $4.5
Madagascar 3 HD/MA $3
Magic Mike's Last Dance HD/MA $4.5
Magnificent Seven ‘16 HD/VU $3
Maleficent HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Maleficent Mistress of Evil HD/GP $2.5
Man Who Fell To Earth ‘76 4K/VU $5
Man Who Shot Liberty Vance 4K/VU $5.5
Marauders HD/VU $3.5
Marksman HD/MA $4
Martian HD/MA $3.5
Mary Poppins ‘64 HD/MA $3.5 or ‘64 HD/GP $3
Mary Poppins Returns 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Mask of Zorro 4K/MA $6
Mauritanian 4K/IT $5
Max Steel HD/IT $3
Maze Runner HD/MA $3.5
McKenna Shoots for the Stars HD/IT $2
Meatballs HD/VU $4
Memory HD/MA $3.5
Men HD/VU $4
Men in Black 3 HD/MA $3
Men in Black 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
MI-5 Spooks '15 HD/VU $4
Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts HD/GP $4.5
Mid-Century 4K/VU $5
Midnight in the Switchgrass 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Midway 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Mile 22 HD/IT $3
Million Dollar Arm HD/GP $2.5
MindGamers HD/MA or IT $3.5
Minions 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Miracles from Heaven HD/MA $3.5
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children HD/MA $3
Mission Impossible 3 4K/VU $5
Mission Impossible 6-film Set HD/VU $17
Mommy HD/VU $4
Moneyball HD/MA $3
Monster High Electrified HD/IT $2.5
Monster Hunter HD/MA $3.5
Money Monster HD/MA $3.5
Monster Trucks HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Monsters University HD/GP $3
Monuments Men HD/MA $3.5
Moon 4K/MA $5.5
Morbius HD/MA $4
Morgan HD/MA $4
Mortal Engines 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Mortal HD/VU $4
Mortal Instruments City of Bones HD/MA $3
Mortdecai HD/VU $3.5
Mountain Between Us HD/MA $2.5
Mr. Peabody & Sherman HD/MA $3
Mulan ‘20 4K/MA $4.5 or ‘20 HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Mummy ‘17 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Mummy ‘99 HD/MA $3.5
Mummy 4-Film Set (Mummy 1-3, Scorpion King) HD/MA $12
Mummy Trilogy 4K/MA or IT $14 or HD/MA $9 4K/IT
Muppets Most Wanted HD/GP $3
Murder on the Orient Express HD/MA $3.5
My All American HD/MA or IT $3.5
My Best Friend is a Vampire HD/VU $4
National Lampoon's Vacation 4K/MA $5.5
Nebraska HD/VU $3
Need for Speed HD/GP $3.5
Needle in a Timestack 4K/VU $5.5
Nerve HD/VU $3.5
News of the World HD/MA $4
Night at the Museum Trilogy HD/MA $11
Night House HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Nightmare Alley HD/GP $3.5
Nightmare Before Christmas 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
No Time to Die 4K/IT $4.5
Noah HD/VU or IT $2.5
Non-Stop HD/VU or IT $3
Norm of the North HD/VU $2.5
Nostalgia ‘18 HD/MA $3.5
Now You See Me 2 4K/IT $4
Now You See Me HD/VU or IT $2.5 or SD/VU $1
Nutcracker & Four Realms HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Oblivion 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Occupation ‘18 HD/VU $3.5
Occupation Rainfall HD/VU $4
Office Christmas Party 4K/IT $3.5
Olaf's Frozen Adventure HD/GP $3
Oliver! 4K/MA $5
On Chesil Beach HD/MA $4.5
One Ranger HD/VU $4.5
Onward HD/GP $2.5
Open Water 2 Adrift HD/VU $4
Open Water HD/VU $4
Operation Avalanche HD/VU $4
Ouija HD/MA or IT $3.5
Our Kind of Traitor HD/MA $4
Outlander S.1 Vol 1 HD/VU $5
Overboard ‘18 HD/VU $3.5
Oz the Great & Powerful HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Pacific Rim Uprising HD/MA $4
Paddington HD/VU $3.5
Pain & Gain HD/VU or IT $3.5
Paper Towns HD/MA $3
Paradise Highway 4K/VU $5
Paranormal Activity 3 (Ext) HD/VU or IT $3
Paranormal Activity Ghost Dimension (Unr) HD/VU or IT $3.5
Paranormal Activity HD/VU $4
Paranormal Activity The Marked Ones HD/VU or IT $3.5
Passengers HD/MA $3.5
Patriot Games 4K/VU $5
Patriot's Day HD/VU $3
Paul Apostle of Christ HD/MA $3
Peanuts Movie HD/MA $3
Penelope HD/VU $4.5
Peppermint HD/IT $3.5
Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters HD/MA $3
Perks of Being a Wallflower HD/VU or IT $3 or SD/VU or IT $1
Pet Sematary ‘19 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Pet Sematary ‘89 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Peter Rabbit HD/MA $3.5
Pete's Dragon ‘16 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Phantom Thread HD/MA $4
Philomena HD/VU $2.5
Pirates of the Caribbean 5 HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Pitch Perfect 2 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA $2.5
Pitch Perfect HD/MA $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Pixar Short Films Set Vol. 3 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Planes Fire & Rescue HD/GP $3
Planes HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Planes, Trains & Automobiles 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Playing w/ Fire HD/VU or IT $2.5
Poltergeist ‘82 4K/MA $5.5
Poltergeist (Ext) ‘15 HD/MA $4
Pompeii HD/MA $3.5
Power Rangers ‘17 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Predator ‘18 HD/MA $3
Predator ‘87 HD/MA $4
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies HD/MA $3.5
Primal HD/VU $3.5
Promise HD/MA or IT $3.5
Proud Mary HD/MA $3.5
Psycho 4K/MA $5
Pulp Fiction 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Punisher War Zone 4K/VU $5.5
Purge Anarchy HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Purge Election Year HD/MA $3.5
Purge 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3 or
Push 4K/VU $6
Quantum of Solace HD/VU $4.5
Quarry 4K/VU $5
Quartet HD/VU $4
Queen of Katwe HD/GP $2.5
Quiet Ones HD/VU $3.5
Rambo ‘08 HD/VU $4
Rambo 5-film Set HD/VU $18
Rambo Last Blood 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Ran ‘85 4K/VU $5.5
Raya & the Last Dragon HD/MA $3.5
Rear Window 4K/IT $3.5
Rebel Without a Cause 4K/MA $5.5
Reclaim HD/VU $3.5
Redline ‘10 HD/VU $4.5
Reign of Assassins HD/VU $4.5
Replicant ‘01 HD/VU $3.5
Replicas HD/VU $3.5
Rescuers Down Under HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Rescuers HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Reservoir Dogs HD/VU $4
Resident Evil Retribution 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Retaliation ‘17 HD/VU $4
Revenant 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Ricki & the Flash HD/MA $3
Riddick (Unr) HD/VU or IT $3
Ride Like a Girl HD/VU $4
Right At Your Door HD/VU $4
Right One 4K/VU $5.5
Rio 2 (Sing-Along) HD/MA $3
Riot HD/VU or IT $3
RIPD HD/IT $2.5
Risen HD/MA $3
Rob Zombie Trilogy (3 From Hell, House of 1000 Corpses, Devil's Rejects) HD/VU $8
Robin Hood ‘18 HD/VU $3
Robocop ‘14 HD/VU $2.5
Rocketman ‘19 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Rocky Horror Picture Show HD/MA $4
Roman J. Israel Esq HD/MA $3
Ron's Gone Wrong HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Room '15 HD/VU $3.5
Rough Night 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Run The Race HD/MA $3
Runner Runner HD/MA $3.5
Rush HD/IT $3
Safe HD/VU or IT $2.5
Same Kind of Different As Me HD/VU or IT $3
Samson HD/MA $3.5
Santa Clause HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Santa Clause 2 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Santa Clause 3 HD/GP $2.5
Sapphires HD/VU $4
Sausage Party HD/MA $3.5
Saving Mr. Banks HD/GP $3
Saw (Unr) 4K/VU $4.5
Saw 7-film Set (Unr) HD/VU $16
Saw HD/VU $3
Scarface HD/MA $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 4K/VU $4.5
Schindler's List 4K/MA or IT $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Scream '96 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Scream Trilogy HD/VU $11
Secret Garden ‘20 4K/VU or IT $5.5
Secret in Their Eyes HD/VU or IT $3
Secret Life of Pets 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
See No Evil 2 HD/VU $3.5
Serenity ‘05 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Seriously Red HD/VU $4
Sex Tape HD/MA $3.5
Shallows HD/MA $3.5
Shang-Chi Legend of the Ten Rings HD/GP $3
Shape of Water HD/MA $3.5
Sherlock Gnomes HD/IT $2.5
Shivers HD/VU $4
Show Dogs HD/MA $3.5
Sicario HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Sicario Day of the Soldado HD/MA $4
Sicario, Wind River, Hell or High Water HD/VU $7.5
Side Effects HD/IT $3.5
Silencing HD/VU $4
Silent Night, Deadly Night 3-Film Set (3-5) HD/VU $7.5
Silk Road 4K/VU $5
Sing ‘16 HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Sing Street HD/VU $4
Sinister HD/VU $3
Skeleton Twins HD/VU $4
Skyfall HD/VU $2.5
Skyscraper 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Sleeping Beauty ‘59 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Sleepy Hollow 4K/VU $6.5
Smokey & the Bandit HD/MA $3.5
Smokin' Aces 4K/MA $5.5
Smurfs The Lost Village HD/MA or IT $3
Snitch 4K/IT $3 or HD/VU $2.5 or SD/VU or IT $1
Snow White & the Huntsman (Ext) 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs ‘37 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Snowden HD/MA or IT $3.5
Snowpiercer HD/VU $4.5
Solo A Star Wars Story HD/GP $3
Son of God HD/MA $3
Sonic the Hedgehog 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Soul HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Source Code 4K/VU $5.5
Southpaw HD/VU $3
Spectre HD/VU $3.5
Spider-Man 2 (Thea & Ext) HD/MA $4.5
Spider-Man 3 HD/MA $3.5
Spider-Man 4-Cut Set (Spider-Man 2 w/ Thea & Ext) HD/MA $11.5
Spider-Man Far From Home HD/MA $3
Spider-Man Homecoming HD/MA $2.5
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse HD/MA $4.5
Spider-Man No Way Home HD/MA $4 or SD/MA $2
Spies in Disguise HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Spinning Man HD/VU $4
Spiral 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Spontaneous HD/VU $4.5
Spy Who Dumped Me 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
St. Vincent HD/VU $3
Stand Up Guys HD/VU $3.5
Star Trek 3 Search for Spock 4K/VU $5
Star Trek Beyond HD/VU $3
Star Trek Into Darkness HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Star Trek The Motion Picture ‘79 4K/VU $5
Steel Dawn HD/VU $3.5
Still Alice HD/MA $4
Straight Outta Compton (Unr) HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Strange World HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Suburbicon HD/VU $3 or /IT $3.5
Super 8 4K/VU or IT $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Sword in the Stone HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Taken 2 HD/MA $3.5
Taken 3 (Unr) HD/MA $3.5
Tangled HD/GP $3.5
Ted (Unr) HD/MA or IT $2.5
Teen Spirit ‘19 HD/MA $4
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ‘14 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $2.5
Terminator 2 Judgment Day (Special) HD/VU $4.5
Terminator 2 Judgment Day 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Terminator Genisys HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Texas Chainsaw ‘13 HD/VU $3.5
Thanks for Sharing HD/VU $4
The Heat HD/MA $3
The Impossible HD/VU $3.5
Think Like a Dog 4K/VU $5
This is the End HD/MA $3.5
Thor Dark World HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Thor Love & Thunder HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Thor Ragnarok HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri HD/MA $3.5
To Kill a Mockingbird HD/MA $3.5
Toll HD/VU $4.5
Tomorrowland HD/GP $3
Top Gun ‘86 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Total Recall ‘90 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Touched w/ Fire HD/VU $4.5
Toy Story HD/GP $3.5
Toy Story 4 4K/MA $4 or HD/GP $2
Training Day 4K/MA $5.5
Transformers Age of Extinction HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Transformers Dark of the Moon 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Transformers The Last Knight 4K/VU or IT $4 or HD/VU $2.5
Trust ‘16 HD/VU $4
Tulip Fever HD/VU $4
Tumbledown HD/VU $4
Turbo HD/MA or IT $3
Turning HD/MA $4
Ugly Dolls 4K/VU or IT $5.5
Unbreakable HD/GP $3.5
Uncharted 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Uncle Drew HD/VU $3.5
Underworld Awakening HD/MA $3
Underworld Blood Wars HD/MA $3
Untouchables 4K/VU $5.5
Us ‘19 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets HD/VU $3.5
Vampire Academy HD/VU $3.5
Vanishing ‘18 HD/VU $4
Venom 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Victoria & Abdul HD/MA $4
Virtuoso 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Vivo HD/MA $4.5
Voices ‘14 HD/VU $4
Voyagers 4K/VU $5
Walk HD/MA $3.5
Wall '17 HD/VU $4
War for the Planet of the Apes HD/MA $3
War of the Worlds ‘53 4K/VU $5.5
War on Everyone HD/VU $4
Warcraft 4K/IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Warhunt 4K/VU $4.5
Warning HD/VU $4
Watch HD/MA or IT $3.5
Wayne's World HD/VU $4.5
We Die Young HD/VU $3.5
Weekend HD/VU $4
Werewolf The Beast Among Us (Unr) HD/MA or IT $3.5
West Side Story 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
What We Did on our Holiday HD/VU $4
When the Game Stands Tall HD/MA $3
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot HD/VU or IT $3
Why Him? HD/MA $3
Widows HD/MA $3.5
Wild Card HD/VU $3
Willow HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Wilson HD/MA $3.5
Winchester HD/VU $3.5
Winnie the Pooh Springtime w/ Roo HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Wolf Hound 4K/VU $4.5
Wolf of Wall Street 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU or IT $3.5
Wolverine (Unr) (w/Thea) HD/MA $3.5
Woman in Gold HD/VU $3.5
Won't Back Down HD/MA $3.5
Woodlawn HD/MA or IT $3.5
Wraith HD/VU $4
X-Men Apocalypse HD/MA $3
X-Men Days of Future Past HD/MA $3
XXX Return of Xander Cage HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Z for Zachariah HD/VU $4
Zero Dark Thirty HD/MA $3.5
Zeros & Ones HD/VU $4
Zootopia HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
submitted by nahimavegan to DigitalCodeSELL [link] [comments]
**I accept PayPal, Venmo, & Cashapp*\*
**Codes are always split/dual portion where applicable, & have no DMI*\*
**Only redeem the portion you pay for!*\*
Scoob! HD/MA $3.5
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines HD/MA $3.5
2000s 10-Film Bundle (The Departed 4K, I Am Legend 4K, Pan's Labyrinth 4K, The Hangover 4K, A History of Violence HD, Best in Show HD, A.I. Artificial Intelligence HD, Mystic River HD, Ocean's Eleven HD, Letters from Iwo Jima HD) HD/MA $30
48 Hrs HD/VU $6
65 HD/MA $4.5 or SD/MA $2.5
80 for Brady HD/VU $5
976-Evil HD/MA $5.5
A League of Their Own 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
A Monster Calls HD/MA $3
A Most Violent Year HD/VU $4.5
A Simple Favor HD/VU $4
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter HD/MA $3.5
Addams Family '19 4K/IT $4.5
Afflicted HD/MA $4
Aliens 4K/MA $6.5
Almost Famous 4K/VU $5
American Psycho 4K/VU $5.5
American Society of Magical Negroes HD/VU $9.5
Angels & Demons 4K/MA $6
Ant-Man & the Wasp Quantumania HD/MA $5.5
Anyone But You HD/MA $7.5
Aquaman & the Lost Kingdom HD/MA $7
Armageddon Time HD/MA $4.5
As Good as it Gets 4K/MA $6
Asteroid City 4K/MA $6.5
Atlantis Lost Empire HD/MA $5
Atlantis Milo's Return HD/GP $4.5
Avatar The Way of Water HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Back to the Future Trilogy HD/MA $10
Bad Boys 4K/MA $5.5
Bad Boys for Life 4K/MA $5.5
Bad Guys HD/MA $4.5
Bambi HD/MA $4
Banshees of Inisherin HD/GP $3.5
Barbie HD/MA $6
Battle for Terra HD/VU $4.5
Beast HD/MA $4.5
Beguiled HD/IT $3
Beyond Re-Animator HD/VU $4
Big Chill 4K/MA $5.5
Big Eyes HD/VU $4
Billy Lynn’s Long Half Time Walk HD/MA $4
Black Adam 4K/MA $5.5
Black Phone HD/MA $4
Blockers HD/MA $3.5
Blood Father HD/VU $3
Bloodshot HD/MA $4
Body Double 4K/MA $5.5
Boogeyman HD/MA $5.5
Book Club Next Chapter HD/MA $5
Book of Life HD/MA $3.5
Bridget Jones’s Diary HD/VU or IT $4
Broken Hearts Gallery HD/VU $4.5
Bros HD/MA $4.5
Bullet Train 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Burrowers HD/VU $4
Call Jane HD/VU $4.5
Cannibal Cabin 4K/VU $5
Charlie's Angels '00 4K/MA $5.5
Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke HD/VU or IT $3.5
Christmas Classics 4-Film Set (Miracle on 34th Street '94, A Christmas Carol '84, Home Alone, Jingle all the Way) HD/MA $12
Cinderella '15 HD/MA $3.5
Cinderella '50 HD/MA $4.5
Cobweb 4K/VU $7.5
Cocaine Bear HD/MA $5
Colossal HD/VU or IT $4
Contagion 4K/MA $6.5
Creature from the Black Lagoon '54 HD/MA $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Creed 3 4K/MA $6.5
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 4K/MA $6
Counselor HD/MA $4
Da Vinci Code 4K/MA $6
Dagon HD/VU $4
Dark Skies HD/VU $3.5
Dear David 4K/VU $6
Dear White People HD/VU $3.5
Den of Thieves HD/IT $3
Devil's Workshop 4K/VU $5.5
Devil's Workshop HD/VU $4.5
Devotion 4K/VU $6 or HD/VU $4.5
Diary of the Dead HD/VU $4
Dig 4K/VU $5.5
District 9 / Elysium Bundle HD/MA $7.5
Dora & the Lost City of Gold HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Dragon Blade HD/VU $3.5
Dr. Strangelove 4K/MA $5
Dragonheart 5-Film Set HD/MA $13
Dreamland HD/VU $4.5
Dream Scenario HD/VU $7
Drive HD/MA $4
Dumb Money HD/MA $6
Dune Part 2 HD/MA $9
Easy Rider 4K/MA $6
Emperor HD/VU $3.5
Equalizer 3 4K/MA $7 or HD/MA $5.5
Equalizer Trilogy 4K/MA $15
Escape Plan HD/VU $2.5
Evil Dead '13 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Evil Dead Rise 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
Evil Under The Sun HD/VU $4
Exorcist (2-cuts) 4K/VU $6.5
Exorcist Believer 4K/MA $7 or HD/MA $5.5
Expendables 1-3 Set 4K/MA $10 or HD/VU $7
Expendables 1-4 Set 4K/VU $15 or HD/VU $11
Fall 4K/VU $6 or HD/VU $4.5
Fast & the Furious 10-film Set 4K/MA $30 or HD/MA $22
Fast X HD/MA $5
Feast (Unr) HD/VU $4
Fifth Element 4K/MA $5.5
Fifty Shades 6-Cut Set (Thea & Unr) HD/MA $12
First Purge HD/MA $3.5
Five Nights at Freddy's HD/MA $6
Fool's Paradise HD/VU $6
Force of Nature '20 HD/VU $3.5
Forger HD/VU $3
Forrest Gump HD/VU $4
Freeheld HD/VU $4
Friendsgiving HD/VU $4
Front Runner HD/MA $4
Frozen '10 HD/VU $4
Funny Girl 4K/MA $5.5
Gandhi 4K/MA $5.5
Gateway 4K/VU $5.5
Gattaca 4K/MA $6
Ghostbusters Afterlife HD/MA $4
Ghoulies Go To College HD/VU $3.5
Glory 4K/MA $6
Godfather 3 Coda HD/VU $4
Godzilla '98 HD/MA $4
Good Boys HD/MA $3.5
Good House 4K/VU $5.5
Goodnight Mommy HD/VU $4
Goosebumps 2 HD/MA $3
Gran Turismo 4K/MA $7 or HD/MA $5.5
Grand Budapest Hotel HD/MA $4
Grease Trilogy HD/VU or IT $9
Green Knight 4K/VU $5
Green Room HD/VU $4
Groundhog Day 4K/MA $5.5
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 HD/MA $5.5
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 4K/MA $6
Hail, Caesar! HD/VU or IT $2.5
Hammett HD/VU $4
Halloween Ends HD/MA $4.5
Halloween Kills (Ext) HD/MA $4.5
Halloween Trilogy (2018, Kills, Ends) 4K/MA $15
Harriet 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
Hex 4K/VU $5.5
High Tension HD/VU $4.5
Hellbenders HD/VU $4
Hellraiser: Judgment HD/VU $4
Hobbs & Shaw HD/MA $4
Home Alone 1 & 2 Set HD/MA $6.5
Hook 4K/MA $6
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Hotel Transylvania 2 HD/MA $3.5
How to Train Your Dragon HD/MA $4
How to Train Your Dragon Hidden World HD/MA $3.5
Hunger Games 4-Film Set 4K/VU $15
Hustlers 4K/IT $4.5
Ice Age Continental Drift HD/MA $3
I, Frankenstein HD/VU or IT $3
I Saw the Light HD/MA $4
Ice Age HD/MA $3.5
Identity Thief HD/IT $3.5
If Beale Street Could Talk HD/MA $4
Imaginary HD/VU $9
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade HD/VU $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Inhabitant HD/VU $4.5
Insidious 4K/MA $5.5
Insidious The Last Key HD/MA $3.5
Insidious Red Door HD/MA $5
Iron Claw HD/VU $6.5
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot HD/VU $3.5
Jaws 2 4K/MA $5
Jerry Maguire 4K/MA $6
Jesus Revolution HD/VU $4.5
John Wick 4 4K/VU $6.5
John Wick 4-Film Collection HD/VU $13
Journey to Bethlehem HD/MA $5.5
Jumanji '95 4K/MA $6
Jungle Book '67 HD/MA $4
Jurassic World 6-film Set HD/MA $18
Jurassic World Dominion (Thea & Ext) HD/MA $5
Kandahar HD/MA $5.5
Karate Kid '84 4K/MA $6
Kiss the Girls 4K/VU $6
Knights of the Zodiac HD/MA $5
Kramer vs Kramer 4K/MA $6
Last Action Hero 4K/MA $5.5
Last Christmas HD/MA $4.5
Last Night in Soho 4K/MA $5.5
Lawless HD/VU $4
Leprechaun 8-Film Set HD/VU $15
Liar Liar HD/MA or IT $4
Licorice Pizza 4K/IT $5
Little Mermaid '23 HD/MA $5
Long Shot HD/VU $4
Lost Boys 4K/MA $6
Love Again SD/MA $2.5
Lucky Number Slevin HD/VU $4.5
M3GAN (Thea & Unr) HD/MA $5
Ma '19 HD/MA $4
Madame Web HD/MA $8
Mamma Mia Here We Go Again HD/MA $3
Manchester by the Sea HD/VU or IT $4
Manodrome HD/VU $5.5
Marsh King's Daughter 4K/VU $5.5
Martyrs HD/VU $4.5
May HD/VU $4
Mean Girls '24 HD/VU $9
Meg 2 4K/MA $7
Memories of Murder 4K/MA $6.5
Menu HD/GP $3.5
Meryl Streep 8-Film Set HD/MA $22
MIB International HD/MA $4
Mickey's Christmas Carol HD/MA $4
Midnight Meat Train (Unr) HD/VU $4
Miller's Girl 4K/VU $8.5
Miracle on 34th Street HD/MA $4
Missing HD/MA $5
Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Pt 1 4K/VU $7.5
Mist 4K/VU $6.5
Mitchells vs the Machines HD/MA $4.5
Monster High Electrified HD/MA or IT $2.5
Moonfall 4K/VU $4.5
Moonrise Kingdom HD/MA $4
Mortal Kombat Legends Cage Match HD/MA $5.5
Mr. Holmes HD/VU $3.5
Mulan '98 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 HD/MA $5.5
My Girl 4K/MA $6
National Champions 4K/IT $5
New Mutants HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Night at the Museum Secret of the Tomb HD/MA $3
Night Swim HD/MA $8
Night Train to Lisbon HD/VU $4
No Good Deed HD/MA $3
No Hard Feelings HD/MA $5.5
Nope HD/MA $4.5
Nun 2 HD/MA $5.5
Ocean's Trilogy 4K/MA $16
Old 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
Office Space HD/MA $4.5
Oppenheimer HD/MA $6
Other Side of the Door HD/MA $4
Out Of The Blue HD/VU $4
Overlord 4K/VU or IT $4.5
ParaNorman HD/IT $4
Parental Guidance HD/MA $2.5
Parents HD/VU $4
Parasite HD/MA $4
Paw Patrol Mighty Movie HD/VU $6.5
Pet Sematary Bloodlines HD/VU $5.5
Peter Pan Return to Neverland HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Philadelphia 4K/MA $5.5
Pick 1 (Black Christmas '18 4K, Dog's Purpose 4K, Sparks Brothers 4K, Raw, Agnes Bourne, Antz, Being Frank, Loving, Don't Let Go, Kicks, Final Account) HD/MA $4
Pinocchio '40 HD/MA $4
Pitch Perfect 3 4K/MA $5
Pixels HD/MA $3
Plane 4K/VU $5.5
Poor Things HD/MA $7.5
Pope's Exorcist HD/MA $5
Prey for the Devil 4K/VU $5.5
Priscilla HD/VU $6
Punch-Drunk Love 4K/MA $6.5
Purge 4-Film Set HD/MA $12
Queen & Slim HD/MA $4
Quick & the Dead '95 4K/MA $6
Rambo First Blood HD/VU $4
Rambo First Blood Pt 2 HD/VU $4
Rango HD/VU $3
Real Genius 4K/MA $5.5
Red Rocket HD/VU $4
Red Sparrow HD/MA $3.5
Renfield HD/MA $5.5
Requin HD/VU $4.5
Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City HD/MA $4
Robin Hood '73 HD/MA $4
Rosemary's Baby 4K/VU $6.5
Rhythm Section HD/VU $3.5
Ruby Gilman Teenage Kraken HD/MA $5.5
Rudy (Dir Cut) 4K/MA $6.5
Rudy 4K/MA $6
Run Lola Run 4K/MA $6.5
Saint Maud HD/VU $4
Samurai Jack Complete Series HD/VU $40
Saw 8-film Set (Unr except Jigsaw) HD/VU $20
Secret Life of Walter Mitty HD/MA $3.5
Shaun of the Dead HD/MA $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Shaun the Sheep HD/VU $3.5
Shrek 6-Film Set (1-4, Musical, Puss in Boots) HD/MA $19
Skiptrace HD/VU $3.5
Scorpion King 4-Film Set (1, 3, 4, Book of Souls) HD/MA $12
Scream 3 4K/VU $5.5
Scream 5 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Scream 6 4K/VU $7 or HD/VU $5.5
Sharktopus HD/VU $3.5
Shazam 2-film Set HD/MA $8
Shazam Fury of the Gods 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
She Said HD/MA $4.5
She's the Man HD/VU $3.5
Sin City HD/VU $4
Silver Linings Playbook HD/VU $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Sisu 4K/VU $6
Sixteen Candles HD/MA $3.5 or HD/IT $3.5
Sleepless in Seattle 4K/MA $6
Smile HD/VU $4.5
Social Network 4K/MA $6
Sometimes They Come Back...Again HD/VU $4
Sometimes They Come Back...For More HD/VU $3.5
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 4K/VU $5.5
Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse 4K/MA $7 or HD/MA $5.5
Split HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Spoiler Alert HD/MA $5
Spy (Unr) HD/MA $3
Star Wars A New Hope HD/MA $4
Starship Troopers 4K/MA $6
Step Brothers 4K/MA $6.5
Stillwater HD/MA $4
Studio 666 HD/MA $5
Sum of All Fears 4K/VU $5
Supercell HD/VU $4.5
Super Mario Bros Movie HD/MA $5
Superfly HD/MA $4
Suspiria (2018) HD/VU $4
T2 Trainspotting 4K/MA $6
Talk to Me 4K/VU $6
Talladega Nights 4K/MA $6.5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out of the Shadows HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Thanksgiving 4K/MA $7.5
The Batman 4K/MA $5.5
The Bay HD/VU $4
The Color Purple '23 4K/MA $8 or HD/MA $6.5
The Creator HD/MA $6
The Descent (Unr) HD/VU $4.5
The Flash HD/MA $5
The Last Dragon 4K/MA $5.5
The Natural 4K/MA $6
The Other Guys 4K/MA $6
The Professional (Ext) 4K/MA $6
The Space Between Us HD/MA $4
The Super '17 HD/VU $4
Ticket to Paradise HD/MA $4.5
Titanic 4K/VU or IT $6 or HD/VU $4.5
Top Gun Maverick HD/VU $4
Toy Story 3 HD/MA $4
Trading Places 4K/VU $6
Transformers Rise of the Beasts 4K/MA $7 or HD/VU $5.5
Trolls 3-Film Collection HD/MA $12
Trolls Band Together HD/MA $6.5
Tusk HD/VU $4.5
Umma HD/MA $4.5
Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 4K/VU $5
Underwater HD/MA $4.5
Unfriended HD/MA $4
Universal Monsters 4-Film Set 4K/MA $17
Up '09 HD/MA $4.5
V for Vendetta 4K/MA $6.5
Vanilla Sky HD/VU $5.5
Velvet Goldmine HD/VU $4.5
Venture Bros Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart HD/MA $5.5
Violent Night HD/MA $5
Walking Dead Season 9 HD/VU $7
Watchmen Ultimate Cut 4K/MA $7.5
Waxwork 2 HD/VU $3.5
We Summon the Darkness HD/VU $4.5
Welcome to Marwen HD/MA $4.5
Welcome to Monster High HD/MA or IT $3
Whiplash 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
White House Down HD/MA $3.5
Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance w/ Somebody HD/MA $4
Wicker Man 4K/VU $5.5
Wish HD/MA $7
Witch HD/VU $3.5
Woman King 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $4
Woman Walks Ahead HD/VU $4
You're Next HD/VU $3.5
X-Men 1-4 Set SD/MA $7.5
Zombieland Double Tap HD/MA $4
10 Cloverfield Lane HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
101 Dalmatians '61 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
13 Hours HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
14 Blades HD/VU $3.5
1917 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
2 Guns 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA or IT $2.5
21 Jump Street HD/MA $3
22 Jump Street HD/MA $3.5
3 Extremes HD/VU $4
3 From Hell (Unr) 4K/VU $4 or HD/VU $2.5
3:10 to Yuma 4K/VU $5
31 HD/VU $2.5
47 Meters Down HD/IT $3.5
47 Meters Down Uncaged 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
47 Ronin HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
600 Miles HD/VU $3.5
71 HD/VU $3.5
A Christmas Story 4K/MA $6
A Dog's Purpose HD/IT $3
A Good Day to Die Hard (Ext) HD/VU $2.5
A Journal For Jordan HD/MA $4
A Quiet Place HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
A Walk Among the Tombstones HD/IT $3.5
A Wrinkle in Time HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
A.C.O.D. HD/IT $3.5
Abominable 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
About Last Night HD/MA $3
Ad Astra HD/MA $4
Adaptation 4K/MA $6
Adverse 4K/VU $5
After Earth HD/MA $3
Aftermath HD/VU $3
Air Force One 4K/MA $6
Aladdin ‘19 HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Aladdin ‘92 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Alien HD/MA $4
Alien Covenant HD/MA $2.5
Alfred Hitchcock 4-Film Set Vol 1 4K/MA $18
Alfred Hitchcock 5-Film Set Vol 2 4K/MA $21
Alien 6-film Set HD/MA $16
Alita Battle Angel 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
All Eyez on Me HD/VU or IT $3
All is Lost HD/VU $3.5
All the Money in the World HD/MA $3.5
Allied HD/VU or IT $3.5
Amazing Spider-Man 2 HD/MA $3.5 or SD/MA $1.5
Amazing Spider-Man HD/MA $3.5 or SD/MA $1.5
American Assassin 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
American Hustle HD/MA $3.5
American Ultra HD/VU or IT $4
American Underdog 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Anatomy of a Murder 4K/MA $5
Anchorman 2 HD/VU or IT $2.5
Angel Has Fallen 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Angel Heart 4K/VU $5.5
Angel of Mine 4K/VU $5.5
Angry Birds Movie HD/MA $3.5
Anna Karenina HD/IT $3.5
Annie ‘14 HD/MA $3.5
Annihilation HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Antebellum 4K/VU $5
Antlers HD/GP $3
Ant-Man & the Wasp HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Ant-Man HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Apache Junction HD/VU $3.5
Apollo 13 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Arctic HD/MA $4
Arrival HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Art of Self-Defense HD/MA $4
Assassination Nation HD/MA $3.5
Assassin's Creed HD/MA $3
Assignment HD/VU $4
Atomic Blonde 4K/IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
August Osage County HD/VU $3
Avengers Age of Ultron HD/GP $3
Avengers Endgame HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Avengers Infinity War 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Baby Driver HD/MA $4
Backdraft 4K/IT $5.5
Bad Grandpa HD/VU or IT $2.5
Bad Words HD/MA or IT $3
Bandslam HD/VU $4
Bank Job HD/VU $3.5
Barb & Star go to Vista Del Mar HD/VU $4
Barbie & Her Sisters in the Great Puppy Adventure HD/IT $3.5
Bart Got a Room HD/VU $4
Battle Royale HD/VU $4.5
Battleship 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Beauty & the Beast ‘17 HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Beauty & the Beast ‘91 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Bedknobs & Broomsticks HD/GP $3.5
Before I Fall HD/VU or IT $3.5
Begin Again HD/VU $3.5
Beiruit HD/MA $3.5
Belly 4K/VU $5.5
Ben-Hur ‘16 HD/VU $3.5
Between Worlds HD/VU $3.5
Big Hero 6 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Big Lebowski 4K/MA or IT $5.5
Big Short HD/VU $3.5
Big Wedding HD/VU or IT $3
Billy Elliot HD/MA or IT $4
Birdman HD/MA $4
Black & Blue HD/MA $4
Black Christmas '19 HD/MA $4.5
Black Panther 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Black Panther Wakanda Forever HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
BlackKklansman HD/MA $4.5
Blacklight HD/MA $4
Black Widow HD/GP $3
Blackhat HD/IT $3.5
Blair Witch Project ‘99 HD/VU $4
Bleeding Steel HD/VU $3.5
Blindspotting 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Blood Money ‘17 HD/VU $3.5
Blood Ties HD/VU $3.5
Blue Jasmine HD/MA $3.5
Blue Ruin HD/VU $4
Blues Brothers HD/MA $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Bob's Burgers Movie HD/GP $3
Body Cam HD/VU $4
Bohemian Rhapsody 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Bombshell 4K/VU $5
Book of Life HD/MA $3.5
Boss Baby HD/MA $2.5
Bourne Identity 4K/IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Bourne Legacy HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Bourne Supremacy HD/MA $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Bourne Ultimatum 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Boy ‘16 HD/IT $3.5
Boy & the World HD/IT $3.5
Braven HD/VU $4
Breakfast Club HD/MA or IT $4
Breakthrough HD/MA $3
Brian Banks HD/MA $3
Bridge of Spies HD/GP $3.5
Brothers Bloom HD/VU $4.5
Bumblebee 4K/VU or IT $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Butler HD/VU $3
Cabin in the Woods HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Cake HD/MA $4
Call of Wild 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Calvary HD/MA $4
Candyman '20 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $4.5
Candyman 3 HD/VU $4
Captain America Civil War HD/GP $2.5
Captain America First Avenger HD/GP $3.5
Captain America Winter Soldier HD/GP $3.5
Captain Marvel 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Captain Phillips HD/MA $3.5
Captain Underpants First Epic Movie HD/MA $2.5
Carol HD/VU $4
Cars 3 HD/GP $2.5
Casablanca 4K/MA $5.5
Case for Christ HD/MA or IT $2.5
Casper HD/IT $4
Celebrating Mickey HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Chaos Walking 4K/VU $5
Chappaquiddick HD/VU $4
Chasing Mavericks HD/MA $3.5
Chicago HD/VU $4
Child 44 HD/VU $4
Children ‘08 HD/VU $4
Christopher Robin HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Clerks 3 4K/VU $4.5
Clifford the Big Red Dog HD/VU $4
Cloverfield 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Coco HD/GP $2.5
Cold Pursuit 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Collection HD/VU $3.5
Collide ‘17 HD/VU or IT $2.5
Colma The Musical HD/VU $4
Colombiana (Unr) HD/MA $4
Colony 4K/VU $5
Come & Find Me HD/VU $4
Commuter 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Company of Heroes HD/MA $4
Conspirator HD/VU $4
Contraband HD/IT $3
Contractor HD/VU $4.5
Cooler HD/VU $4
Cool Hand Luke 4K/MA $5.5
Cooties HD/VU $4
Cotton Club Encore 4K/VU $5.5
Countdown ‘16 HD/VU $3.5
Courier 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Craft Legacy HD/MA $4.5
Criminal HD/VU or IT $3
Croods HD/VU $3.5
Cruella HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Crypto 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Daddy's Home HD/IT $2.5
Daddy's Home 2 HD/VU or IT $3
Damsel HD/VU $4.5
Dangerous 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Danny Collins HD/IT $3.5
Dark Crimes HD/VU $4
Darkest Minds HD/MA $4
Dark Places HD/VU $4
Dark Tower HD/MA $3.5
Darkest Hour ‘17 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes HD/MA $3.5
Deadpool 2 (w/Super Duper Cut) HD/MA $4
Deadpool HD/MA $2.5
Death of Me HD/VU $4
Death on the Nile HD/GP $3
Death Wish '18 HD/VU $3
Deepwater Horizon HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Deliver Us From Evil HD/MA $3.5
Dentist 2-Film Set HD/VU $7
Despicable Me 2 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Despicable Me 3 4K/MA or IT $4.5
Despicable Me 4K/MA or IT $4.5
Detroit HD/MA $3.5
Devil Inside HD/VU $3.5
Devil's Due HD/MA $3.5
Die Hard HD/MA $3.5
Die Hard 5-film Set HD/MA $18
Die in a Gunfight 4K/VU $5
Dirty Dancing 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Disney Animated Short Films Set HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Disneynature Monkey Kingdom HD/MA $3
Django Unchained HD/VU $3
Doctor Strange HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness HD/GP $3
Dolittle HD/MA $3.5
Dom Hemingway HD/MA $3.5
Don Verdean HD/VU $4.5
Doorman HD/VU $3.5
Doors 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Downsizing HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Downton Abbey A New Era HD/MA $4
Downton Abbey The Movie HD/MA $3.5
Draft Day HD/IT $3.5
Dragged Across Concrete HD/VU $3.5
Dragonslayer 4K/VU $5.5
Dream a Little Dream HD/VU $4
Dreamkatcher HD/VU $4
Dreamworks 10-Film HD/MA $25
Dredd 4K/VU $4 or HD/VU $2.5
Dying of the Light HD/VU $2.5
E.T. Extra Terrestrial 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Early Man 4K/VU $5.5
Earth Girls are Easy HD/VU $4
Eddie the Eagle HD/MA $4
Edge of Seventeen HD/IT $3
Edward Scissorhands HD/MA $3.5
El Chicano HD/MA $4
Elysium HD/MA $3.5
Emoji Movie HD/MA $3
Empire of Light HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Empire State HD/VU $3
Encanto 4K/GP $3.5
Enough Said HD/MA $3.5
Enter the Dragon 4K/MA $6
Epic HD/MA $3
Equalizer HD/MA $3.5
Equalizer 2 HD/MA $3.5
Escape From Planet Earth HD/VU $3
Eternals HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Everest HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Everything Must Go HD/VU $4
Evil Dead 2 HD/VU $3.5
Ex Machina HD/VU $3
Exodus Gods & Kings HD/MA $3.5
Expired 4K/VU $4.5
Fair Game (Dir) HD/VU $4
Fantastic Four ‘15 HD/MA $4
Fast & Furious 4 4K/MA $5
Fast & the Furious 8-film Set HD/MA $17
Fast & the Furious 9-film Set HD/MA $19
Fast Color 4K/VU $5.5
Fatale ‘20 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Fatherhood HD/MA $4
Fault in Our Stars HD/MA $3.5
Fear of Rain 4K/VU $5.5
Fences HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Ferdinand HD/MA $3.5
Field of Dreams 4K/MA or IT $5.5
Fifty Shades Darker (Unr) HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Fifty Shades Freed HD/MA $4
Fifty Shades of Grey (Unr) 4K/MA or IT $4
Finding Dory HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Finding Nemo HD/GP $3.5
Finest Hours HD/GP $3
Firm 4K/VU $6
First Man HD/MA $4
Flashback ‘20 HD/VU $4
Flight HD/VU or IT $3
Florence Foster Jenkins HD/VU or IT $3
Footloose ‘11 HD/IT $3
Forbidden Kingdom HD/VU $4.5
Ford v Ferrari HD/MA $4
Forest HD/IT $3.5
Forever My Girl HD/IT $3
Fortress HD/VU $3.5
Fortress Sniper's Eye HD/VU $3.5
Fox & the Hound 2 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Foxcatcher HD/MA $4
Frank & Lola HD/VU or IT $3
Free Guy HD/GP $3
French Dispatch HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Friday the 13th 4K/VU $5.5
From Here to Eternity 4K/MA $5.5
Frozen (Sing-Along) HD/MA $2 or HD/GP $1.5
Frozen HD/GP $2
Frozen 2 HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Frozen Ground ‘13 HD/VU $3.5
Fury HD/MA $3.5
Future World HD/VU $3.5
G.I. Joe Retaliation HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Gambit ‘12 HD/MA $4
Gambler HD/VU or IT $3
Gamer 4K/VU $5.5
Gemini Man 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Get Out 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Ghost in the Shell ‘17 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Ghost in the Shell ‘95 4K/VU $5
Ghost Team One HD/VU or IT $3.5
Ghostbusters ‘84 HD/MA $3.5
Ghostbusters (Thea & Ext) ‘16 HD/MA $3
Ghostbusters 2 HD/MA $3.5
Gifted HD/MA $3
Girl on Train HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Girl w/ All Gifts HD/VU $4
Giver HD/VU $3.5
Glass Castle 4K/VU $5.5
Glass HD/MA $4
God Bless The Broken Road HD/VU $3.5
God's Not Dead 2 HD/MA or IT $2.5
God's Not Dead 3 HD/MA $3
Gods of Egypt HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Gold ‘16 HD/VU $2.5
Good Dinosaur HD/GP $2.5
Good Kill HD/VU or IT $3.5
Grease 2 HD/VU $4
Great Wall 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Greatest Showman HD/MA $3.5
Green Book HD/MA $4
Grey HD/VU or IT $3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 HD/GP $2
Guilt Trip HD/VU or IT $3
Gunman HD/MA or IT $3
Guns of Navarone 4K/MA $5.5
Hacksaw Ridge 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Halloween ‘18 HD/MA $3
Hammer of the Gods HD/VU $2
Hannibal S.1 HD/VU $5
Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters (Unr) HD/VU or IT $3
Hard Luck Love Song 4K/VU $5.5
Hard Target 2 HD/IT $1.5
Hardcore Henry HD/VU or IT $3.5
Hate U Give HD/MA $4
Hateful Eight HD/VU $3.5
Heat (Director's Cut) ‘95 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Heaven is for Real HD/MA $3.5
Hercules ‘14 HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Here Comes the Boom HD/MA $3.5
Hereditary HD/VU $3.5
Hidden Figures HD/MA $3
High Note HD/MA $4
Highlander 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Hitchcock '12 HD/MA $4
Hitman Agent 47 HD/MA $3
Hitman's Bodyguard HD/VU $3.5
Hocus Pocus HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Home HD/MA $3
Home Again HD/MA $3
Home Alone 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Homefront HD/MA or IT $3
Homesman HD/VU $3
Honey 2 HD/VU $3
Hostiles 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Hotel Transylvania 3 HD/MA $3.5
Hot Fuzz HD/VU $4
Hotel Mumbai HD/MA $4
Hours ‘13 HD/VU $4
House of 1000 Corpses HD/VU $4
House of Gucci 4K/IT $5.5
House w/ a Clock in Its Walls sHD/MA $4
How to Train Your Dragon 2 HD/MA $2.5
Hugo HD/VU $3
Hunt for Red October 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Huntsman Winter's War (Ext) HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
I Can Only Imagine HD/VU $3.5
I Feel Pretty HD/IT $2
Ides of March HD/MA $4
I Know What You Did Last Summer 4K/MA $5.5
Imitation Game HD/VU $3
In a Valley of Violence HD/IT $3
In Secret ‘14 HD/VU $4.5
In the Blood HD/VU $4
Incredibles 2 HD/GP $3
Independence Day ‘96 HD/MA $4
Independence Day Resurgence HD/MA $2.5
Indiana Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K/VU or IT $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom 4K/VU or IT $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Indignation HD/VU $4
Indivisible HD/MA $3.5
Inferno HD/MA $3
Initiation 4K/VU $5
Initiation HD/VU $3.5
Internship HD/MA $3
Interstellar 4K/VU or IT $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Interview HD/MA $3.5
Into the Woods HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Invisible Man '20 HD/MA $3.5
Invisible Man ‘33 HD/MA $3.5
Iron Man 3 HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Iron Man & Hulk Heroes United HD/GP $3.5
Iron Mask ‘19 HD/VU $4.5
It Follows HD/VU $3.5
It's a Wonderful Life HD/VU $3
Jack & Jill HD/MA $3.5
Jack Reacher 4K/IT $4.5
Jack Reacher Never Go Back HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit 4K/IT $4 or HD/VU $2.5
Jacob's Ladder HD/VU $4
Jane Got a Gun HD/VU $4
Jason Bourne HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Jesus Music HD/VU $3.5
Jexi HD/VU $3.5
Jobs HD/MA or IT $3.5
Joe HD/VU $3.5
Joe Kidd HD/IT $4
John Wick 1 & 2 Bundle HD/VU $4
John Wick 3 Parabellum 4K/VU $4.5
John Wick Chapter 2 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
John Wick HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
John Wick Trilogy 4K/VU $13 or HD/VU (#3 4K) $9 or all HD/VU $8
Journey to the West Conquering the Demons HD/VU $3.5
Joy HD/MA $3
Judy 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Juliet, Naked 4K/VU $5.5
Jumanji Welcome To The Jungle HD/MA $2.5
Jungle Book ‘16 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Jungle Cruise HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Jurassic Park 3 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Jurassic Park 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Jurassic World 5-film Set HD/MA $14
Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Kama Sutra HD/VU $4
Kick-Ass 2 HD/MA $3.5
Kid ‘19 HD/VU $3.5
Kid Who Would Be King 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Kill Zone ‘05 HD/VU $4.5
Killer Elite HD/IT $3
Killing Gunther HD/VU $4
Kin ‘18 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
King Kong ‘05 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
King of Staten Island HD/MA $4
King's Man HD/GP $3.5
Kingsman The Golden Circle HD/MA $3
Kingsman The Secret Service HD/MA $3.5
Knives Out HD/VU $3.5 s Knowing 4K/VU $5.5
La La Land HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Labor Day HD/VU or IT $3
Lady Macbeth HD/VU $4.5
Lady of the Manor 4K/VU $5
Lair of White Worm HD/VU $4.5
Lake Mungo HD/VU $4
Lara Croft Tomb Raider 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Last Dragon HD/MA $4.5
Last Duel HD/GP $3.5
Last Exorcism HD/VU $4
Last Knights HD/VU $3.5
Last Man ‘19 HD/VU $4
Last Vegas HD/VU $3
Last Witch Hunter 4K/IT $3.5
Lawrence of Arabia 4K/MA $5.5
Legends of Oz Dorothy's Return HD/MA $3.5
Leprechaun 7-film Set HD/VU $12
Let's be Cops HD/MA $3.5
Let Him Go HD/MA $4
Life ‘17 HD/MA $3.5
Life of Crime HD/VU $3.5
Life of Pi 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA or IT $3.5
Light of My Life HD/IT $3.5
Lightyear HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Like a Boss HD/VU $3.5
Lilo & Stitch 2 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Lion HD/VU $4
Lion King ‘19 4K/MA $4 or HD/GP $2
Lion King ‘94 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Little HD/MA $3.5
Little Mermaid ‘89 HD/MA $4
Live Free or Die Hard HD/MA $4
Locked Down 4K/MA $5.5
Logan HD/MA $3
Logan Lucky HD/MA $3.5 or /IT $4
Lone Ranger HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Lone Survivor HD/VU $2.5
Longest Week HD/VU $3.5
Looper HD/MA $3.5
Lorax HD/MA or IT $3
Lord of War 4K/VU $5.5
Lords of Salem HD/VU $4
Lost World Jurassic Park HD/MA $3.5
Love & Mercy HD/VU $3.5
Love the Coopers HD/VU or IT $4
Love, Simon HD/MA $3.5
Loving HD/VU or IT $3.5
Luca HD/GP $3
Lucy 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile HD/MA $4.5
Madagascar 3 HD/MA $3
Magic Mike's Last Dance HD/MA $4.5
Magnificent Seven ‘16 HD/VU $3
Maleficent HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Maleficent Mistress of Evil HD/GP $2.5
Man Who Fell To Earth ‘76 4K/VU $5
Man Who Shot Liberty Vance 4K/VU $5.5
Marauders HD/VU $3.5
Marksman HD/MA $4
Martian HD/MA $3.5
Mary Poppins ‘64 HD/MA $3.5 or ‘64 HD/GP $3
Mary Poppins Returns 4K/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $2.5
Mask of Zorro 4K/MA $6
Mauritanian 4K/IT $5
Max Steel HD/IT $3
Maze Runner HD/MA $3.5
McKenna Shoots for the Stars HD/IT $2
Meatballs HD/VU $4
Memory HD/MA $3.5
Men HD/VU $4
Men in Black 3 HD/MA $3
Men in Black 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
MI-5 Spooks '15 HD/VU $4
Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts HD/GP $4.5
Mid-Century 4K/VU $5
Midnight in the Switchgrass 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Midway 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Mile 22 HD/IT $3
Million Dollar Arm HD/GP $2.5
MindGamers HD/MA or IT $3.5
Minions 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Miracles from Heaven HD/MA $3.5
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children HD/MA $3
Mission Impossible 3 4K/VU $5
Mission Impossible 6-film Set HD/VU $17
Mommy HD/VU $4
Moneyball HD/MA $3
Monster High Electrified HD/IT $2.5
Monster Hunter HD/MA $3.5
Money Monster HD/MA $3.5
Monster Trucks HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Monsters University HD/GP $3
Monuments Men HD/MA $3.5
Moon 4K/MA $5.5
Morbius HD/MA $4
Morgan HD/MA $4
Mortal Engines 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Mortal HD/VU $4
Mortal Instruments City of Bones HD/MA $3
Mortdecai HD/VU $3.5
Mountain Between Us HD/MA $2.5
Mr. Peabody & Sherman HD/MA $3
Mulan ‘20 4K/MA $4.5 or ‘20 HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Mummy ‘17 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Mummy ‘99 HD/MA $3.5
Mummy 4-Film Set (Mummy 1-3, Scorpion King) HD/MA $12
Mummy Trilogy 4K/MA or IT $14 or HD/MA $9 4K/IT
Muppets Most Wanted HD/GP $3
Murder on the Orient Express HD/MA $3.5
My All American HD/MA or IT $3.5
My Best Friend is a Vampire HD/VU $4
National Lampoon's Vacation 4K/MA $5.5
Nebraska HD/VU $3
Need for Speed HD/GP $3.5
Needle in a Timestack 4K/VU $5.5
Nerve HD/VU $3.5
News of the World HD/MA $4
Night at the Museum Trilogy HD/MA $11
Night House HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Nightmare Alley HD/GP $3.5
Nightmare Before Christmas 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
No Time to Die 4K/IT $4.5
Noah HD/VU or IT $2.5
Non-Stop HD/VU or IT $3
Norm of the North HD/VU $2.5
Nostalgia ‘18 HD/MA $3.5
Now You See Me 2 4K/IT $4
Now You See Me HD/VU or IT $2.5 or SD/VU $1
Nutcracker & Four Realms HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Oblivion 4K/MA or IT $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Occupation ‘18 HD/VU $3.5
Occupation Rainfall HD/VU $4
Office Christmas Party 4K/IT $3.5
Olaf's Frozen Adventure HD/GP $3
Oliver! 4K/MA $5
On Chesil Beach HD/MA $4.5
One Ranger HD/VU $4.5
Onward HD/GP $2.5
Open Water 2 Adrift HD/VU $4
Open Water HD/VU $4
Operation Avalanche HD/VU $4
Ouija HD/MA or IT $3.5
Our Kind of Traitor HD/MA $4
Outlander S.1 Vol 1 HD/VU $5
Overboard ‘18 HD/VU $3.5
Oz the Great & Powerful HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Pacific Rim Uprising HD/MA $4
Paddington HD/VU $3.5
Pain & Gain HD/VU or IT $3.5
Paper Towns HD/MA $3
Paradise Highway 4K/VU $5
Paranormal Activity 3 (Ext) HD/VU or IT $3
Paranormal Activity Ghost Dimension (Unr) HD/VU or IT $3.5
Paranormal Activity HD/VU $4
Paranormal Activity The Marked Ones HD/VU or IT $3.5
Passengers HD/MA $3.5
Patriot Games 4K/VU $5
Patriot's Day HD/VU $3
Paul Apostle of Christ HD/MA $3
Peanuts Movie HD/MA $3
Penelope HD/VU $4.5
Peppermint HD/IT $3.5
Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters HD/MA $3
Perks of Being a Wallflower HD/VU or IT $3 or SD/VU or IT $1
Pet Sematary ‘19 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Pet Sematary ‘89 HD/VU $3.5 or 4K/IT $4
Peter Rabbit HD/MA $3.5
Pete's Dragon ‘16 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Phantom Thread HD/MA $4
Philomena HD/VU $2.5
Pirates of the Caribbean 5 HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Pitch Perfect 2 4K/MA $4 or HD/MA $2.5
Pitch Perfect HD/MA $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Pixar Short Films Set Vol. 3 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Planes Fire & Rescue HD/GP $3
Planes HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Planes, Trains & Automobiles 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Playing w/ Fire HD/VU or IT $2.5
Poltergeist ‘82 4K/MA $5.5
Poltergeist (Ext) ‘15 HD/MA $4
Pompeii HD/MA $3.5
Power Rangers ‘17 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Predator ‘18 HD/MA $3
Predator ‘87 HD/MA $4
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies HD/MA $3.5
Primal HD/VU $3.5
Promise HD/MA or IT $3.5
Proud Mary HD/MA $3.5
Psycho 4K/MA $5
Pulp Fiction 4K/VU $5.5 or HD/VU $4
Punisher War Zone 4K/VU $5.5
Purge Anarchy HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Purge Election Year HD/MA $3.5
Purge 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3 or
Push 4K/VU $6
Quantum of Solace HD/VU $4.5
Quarry 4K/VU $5
Quartet HD/VU $4
Queen of Katwe HD/GP $2.5
Quiet Ones HD/VU $3.5
Rambo ‘08 HD/VU $4
Rambo 5-film Set HD/VU $18
Rambo Last Blood 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Ran ‘85 4K/VU $5.5
Raya & the Last Dragon HD/MA $3.5
Rear Window 4K/IT $3.5
Rebel Without a Cause 4K/MA $5.5
Reclaim HD/VU $3.5
Redline ‘10 HD/VU $4.5
Reign of Assassins HD/VU $4.5
Replicant ‘01 HD/VU $3.5
Replicas HD/VU $3.5
Rescuers Down Under HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Rescuers HD/MA $4.5 or HD/GP $4
Reservoir Dogs HD/VU $4
Resident Evil Retribution 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Retaliation ‘17 HD/VU $4
Revenant 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Ricki & the Flash HD/MA $3
Riddick (Unr) HD/VU or IT $3
Ride Like a Girl HD/VU $4
Right At Your Door HD/VU $4
Right One 4K/VU $5.5
Rio 2 (Sing-Along) HD/MA $3
Riot HD/VU or IT $3
RIPD HD/IT $2.5
Risen HD/MA $3
Rob Zombie Trilogy (3 From Hell, House of 1000 Corpses, Devil's Rejects) HD/VU $8
Robin Hood ‘18 HD/VU $3
Robocop ‘14 HD/VU $2.5
Rocketman ‘19 HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Rocky Horror Picture Show HD/MA $4
Roman J. Israel Esq HD/MA $3
Ron's Gone Wrong HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Room '15 HD/VU $3.5
Rough Night 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Run The Race HD/MA $3
Runner Runner HD/MA $3.5
Rush HD/IT $3
Safe HD/VU or IT $2.5
Same Kind of Different As Me HD/VU or IT $3
Samson HD/MA $3.5
Santa Clause HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Santa Clause 2 HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Santa Clause 3 HD/GP $2.5
Sapphires HD/VU $4
Sausage Party HD/MA $3.5
Saving Mr. Banks HD/GP $3
Saw (Unr) 4K/VU $4.5
Saw 7-film Set (Unr) HD/VU $16
Saw HD/VU $3
Scarface HD/MA $4 or 4K/IT $4.5
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 4K/VU $4.5
Schindler's List 4K/MA or IT $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Scream '96 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Scream Trilogy HD/VU $11
Secret Garden ‘20 4K/VU or IT $5.5
Secret in Their Eyes HD/VU or IT $3
Secret Life of Pets 4K/MA or IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
See No Evil 2 HD/VU $3.5
Serenity ‘05 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Seriously Red HD/VU $4
Sex Tape HD/MA $3.5
Shallows HD/MA $3.5
Shang-Chi Legend of the Ten Rings HD/GP $3
Shape of Water HD/MA $3.5
Sherlock Gnomes HD/IT $2.5
Shivers HD/VU $4
Show Dogs HD/MA $3.5
Sicario HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Sicario Day of the Soldado HD/MA $4
Sicario, Wind River, Hell or High Water HD/VU $7.5
Side Effects HD/IT $3.5
Silencing HD/VU $4
Silent Night, Deadly Night 3-Film Set (3-5) HD/VU $7.5
Silk Road 4K/VU $5
Sing ‘16 HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Sing Street HD/VU $4
Sinister HD/VU $3
Skeleton Twins HD/VU $4
Skyfall HD/VU $2.5
Skyscraper 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Sleeping Beauty ‘59 HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Sleepy Hollow 4K/VU $6.5
Smokey & the Bandit HD/MA $3.5
Smokin' Aces 4K/MA $5.5
Smurfs The Lost Village HD/MA or IT $3
Snitch 4K/IT $3 or HD/VU $2.5 or SD/VU or IT $1
Snow White & the Huntsman (Ext) 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs ‘37 4K/MA $6 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Snowden HD/MA or IT $3.5
Snowpiercer HD/VU $4.5
Solo A Star Wars Story HD/GP $3
Son of God HD/MA $3
Sonic the Hedgehog 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Soul HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
Source Code 4K/VU $5.5
Southpaw HD/VU $3
Spectre HD/VU $3.5
Spider-Man 2 (Thea & Ext) HD/MA $4.5
Spider-Man 3 HD/MA $3.5
Spider-Man 4-Cut Set (Spider-Man 2 w/ Thea & Ext) HD/MA $11.5
Spider-Man Far From Home HD/MA $3
Spider-Man Homecoming HD/MA $2.5
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse HD/MA $4.5
Spider-Man No Way Home HD/MA $4 or SD/MA $2
Spies in Disguise HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Spinning Man HD/VU $4
Spiral 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Spontaneous HD/VU $4.5
Spy Who Dumped Me 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
St. Vincent HD/VU $3
Stand Up Guys HD/VU $3.5
Star Trek 3 Search for Spock 4K/VU $5
Star Trek Beyond HD/VU $3
Star Trek Into Darkness HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Star Trek The Motion Picture ‘79 4K/VU $5
Steel Dawn HD/VU $3.5
Still Alice HD/MA $4
Straight Outta Compton (Unr) HD/MA $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Strange World HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Suburbicon HD/VU $3 or /IT $3.5
Super 8 4K/VU or IT $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Sword in the Stone HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Taken 2 HD/MA $3.5
Taken 3 (Unr) HD/MA $3.5
Tangled HD/GP $3.5
Ted (Unr) HD/MA or IT $2.5
Teen Spirit ‘19 HD/MA $4
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ‘14 4K/VU or IT $4.5 or HD/VU $2.5
Terminator 2 Judgment Day (Special) HD/VU $4.5
Terminator 2 Judgment Day 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Terminator Genisys HD/VU $3 or 4K/IT $3.5
Texas Chainsaw ‘13 HD/VU $3.5
Thanks for Sharing HD/VU $4
The Heat HD/MA $3
The Impossible HD/VU $3.5
Think Like a Dog 4K/VU $5
This is the End HD/MA $3.5
Thor Dark World HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Thor Love & Thunder HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
Thor Ragnarok HD/MA $2.5 or HD/GP $2
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri HD/MA $3.5
To Kill a Mockingbird HD/MA $3.5
Toll HD/VU $4.5
Tomorrowland HD/GP $3
Top Gun ‘86 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Total Recall ‘90 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Touched w/ Fire HD/VU $4.5
Toy Story HD/GP $3.5
Toy Story 4 4K/MA $4 or HD/GP $2
Training Day 4K/MA $5.5
Transformers Age of Extinction HD/VU $2.5 or 4K/IT $3
Transformers Dark of the Moon 4K/VU $4.5 or HD/VU $3
Transformers The Last Knight 4K/VU or IT $4 or HD/VU $2.5
Trust ‘16 HD/VU $4
Tulip Fever HD/VU $4
Tumbledown HD/VU $4
Turbo HD/MA or IT $3
Turning HD/MA $4
Ugly Dolls 4K/VU or IT $5.5
Unbreakable HD/GP $3.5
Uncharted 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Uncle Drew HD/VU $3.5
Underworld Awakening HD/MA $3
Underworld Blood Wars HD/MA $3
Untouchables 4K/VU $5.5
Us ‘19 4K/MA $5.5 or HD/MA $4
Valerian & the City of a Thousand Planets HD/VU $3.5
Vampire Academy HD/VU $3.5
Vanishing ‘18 HD/VU $4
Venom 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5
Victoria & Abdul HD/MA $4
Virtuoso 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU $3.5
Vivo HD/MA $4.5
Voices ‘14 HD/VU $4
Voyagers 4K/VU $5
Walk HD/MA $3.5
Wall '17 HD/VU $4
War for the Planet of the Apes HD/MA $3
War of the Worlds ‘53 4K/VU $5.5
War on Everyone HD/VU $4
Warcraft 4K/IT $4.5 or HD/MA $3
Warhunt 4K/VU $4.5
Warning HD/VU $4
Watch HD/MA or IT $3.5
Wayne's World HD/VU $4.5
We Die Young HD/VU $3.5
Weekend HD/VU $4
Werewolf The Beast Among Us (Unr) HD/MA or IT $3.5
West Side Story 4K/MA $5 or HD/MA $3.5 or HD/GP $3
What We Did on our Holiday HD/VU $4
When the Game Stands Tall HD/MA $3
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot HD/VU or IT $3
Why Him? HD/MA $3
Widows HD/MA $3.5
Wild Card HD/VU $3
Willow HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Wilson HD/MA $3.5
Winchester HD/VU $3.5
Winnie the Pooh Springtime w/ Roo HD/MA $4 or HD/GP $3.5
Wolf Hound 4K/VU $4.5
Wolf of Wall Street 4K/VU $5 or HD/VU or IT $3.5
Wolverine (Unr) (w/Thea) HD/MA $3.5
Woman in Gold HD/VU $3.5
Won't Back Down HD/MA $3.5
Woodlawn HD/MA or IT $3.5
Wraith HD/VU $4
X-Men Apocalypse HD/MA $3
X-Men Days of Future Past HD/MA $3
XXX Return of Xander Cage HD/VU $2 or 4K/IT $2.5
Z for Zachariah HD/VU $4
Zero Dark Thirty HD/MA $3.5
Zeros & Ones HD/VU $4
Zootopia HD/MA $3 or HD/GP $2.5
2024.05.27 20:20 No_Dark9371 Livgardet, Chapter III: Stayin' Alive
HELLMIRE
Well, the name certainly fits. The heat that felt like it had been extracted straight from the Sun, the fire tornadoes, the barren and lifeless desert. Certainly something that would exist only in a place like Hell. All across the section of the planet they were on, were red-striped circles that pulsed on the map. Some were relatively small, others medium-sized.
Okay, perhaps this wasn't all bad. Uzi had played more than enough shooter games to know what those were, and the laughably small enemy outposts could be cleared by just about anyone here without breaking a sweat. Well, not more than they already were. The heat had all four of the drones practically sweating bullets, and the desert that stretched on for miles was certainly not helping.
But at least the worker hoped they could clear them all effortlessly.
The sand-filled winds slightly blew the teen's dull purple hair to the left, and stuck a few sand grains in her hair, which went unnoticed even by Uzi herself. A small smirk crossed her face, and the tingling sensation ceased, and her mind's racing slowed, if only by a little.
Andrew swiped one finger on the small screen, moving the map to one of the moderately-sized circles, marking the center of it.
“I hope you all aren't afraid of bugs.” The moment the word bugs was uttered, J noticeably tensed. Even though the murder drone was hoping the Sergeant hadn't seen it, the feeling of a pair of eyes burning into her back told the Disassembly Drone otherwise. Trying to will both the tension, and the mounting fear of what resides on this planet away but to no avail, J turned on her heel, facing the Sergeant and looking at the holomap. The circle he had marked wasn't far from here, just a couple minutes’ walk away.
J was damn thankful she had wings. Even if she wanted to walk the distance, the heat would render her immobile her before she could even get a considerable distance. The white-hot sand-filled winds themselves were already slightly distorting her vision anyway, and there was no way in Hell she was dying here. She leapt into the scalding-hot air, stretching her wings to half capacity, and was soon followed by the other three drones.
‘Guess they were just as steaming as I am.’
“If I'm gonna be honest here, I thought those were for gliding.” Andrew quipped to himself, shrugging. His eyes followed the drones as they leapt into the air and watched as they flew off. Sighing heavily, Andrew flipped off the holomap and swiped on his screen once more and threw down another beacon. After a couple seconds, another pod came crashing down, and with it, a jetpack. Soon, the Sergeant was also in the air, flying off to meet the drones.
After a minute of flying, V spotted what looked like overgrown cockroaches. Some were green, others orange, and there was one large creature that was white and red. Almost the very moment V laid eyes on the creature, its head almost demonically snapped up towards the drone.
Then it disappeared. ‘Dear Robo-Christ, it fucking disappeared.’
V opened her mouth, but the sound of a jetpack’s boosters shut it. She was once again face to face with the now-flying Helldiver. All three of the drones stopped flying, instead hovering in the air, surprise and confusion written all over their faces. V quirked an eyebrow at the jetpack, examining it as if it was some foreign object.
“What?” Andrew was first to break the silence, a Welsh edge to his voice. “Never seen a jetpack before?”
He was met with collective head shakes. Half because they had never seen a jetpack, and the other out of disappointment because they had failed to pick up the fact that he was Welsh earlier.
“Jetpacks are heavily outdated where we come from. They stopped using them centuries ago.” Uzi explained.
A dead silence.
“Centuries?” Andrew wasn't sure if he was just hearing things, or something. Centuries ago? “Okay, what year do you people come from?” He said, half-expecting them to recite the present year. “Actually, disregard that. What year is it?”
“3071?” N replied. That completely shattered the Sergeant's expectation.
“Aw, hell nah. This is some back to the future bullshit.” Andrew groaned, facepalming as he hovered down to the bugs, muttering strings of swears under his breath. He was quickly followed by the four drones, but the sound of the Sergeant's boosters alerted the bugs. It didn't do much of anything to deter the Helldiver, as he landed on one of the bugs, crushing it's head and spraying a nauseating green all over his legs and lower torso.
He was soon followed by J. But before she could touch down, she was pinned down by the very same creature that had disappeared after making eye contact with her. The startled drone's optics hollowed as she tried to wrestle herself out of its hold, to no avail. It raised one of its legs, and thrust it down, skewering her torso and using the other to tear her in half before it was subsequently shot dead by the Sergeant. J was still, lifeless. Just as she was when she was shot on the ship. Her gray intestines and various other organs hung out, strung every which way in the desert sands.
Andrew would be lying if he said he wasn't completely sick to his stomach watching that. He had seen men fall to these creatures, yes, but this… It struck a nerve in him. The way the corpse was sprawled, it made him remember another. All over the concrete, barely breathing. Barely alive.
The sound of tires screeching, the heart-wrenching and blood-curdling screams of children, the deafening sound of metal on metal.
"Lloyd..?"
Andrew nearly jumped out of his armor and skin the moment he heard that voice. It was one he hadn't heard in years. A feminine one. A soothing, Welsh feminine voice, yet rough around the edges. Just as quickly as it came, the voice disappeared, and Andrew was once again staring at J and the bug's dead bodies.
“I… I need a moment.” Uzi stammered, a vomit green covering her visor as she staggered away to a nearby dead tree, then proceeding to vomit her guts out on the spot.
Without even flinching but inwardly nauseated, Andrew patiently waited for J to reconstruct and get back up. And just as he expected, it slowly began. Slowly yet surely, the drone reconstructed herself, and just as quickly as she had fallen, she had gotten back up. Even though he had been unmoving on the outside, there was a bile building up in the Sergeant's throat that cost him all of his willpower just to hold down.
‘Mental note: Never stare at dead drones again.’
Just faintly, Andrew could still hear the shrieks of two child-like voices and still feel the harrowing feeling of floating upwards, then being thrown out of glass. The spiking pain of the shards, the white-hot sensation of landing on pavement.
Andrew shook his head ever so slightly, trying to wrest the memories away once more, but to no avail.
The planet seemed to tremor as more bugs burrowed out of the ground. They varied in size, but most were rather small. All three drones’ optics hollowed as they began to get into defensive stances. V looked to the Sergeant, half-expecting a signal. All he did was gesture towards the bugs. “Let's see how you all fare against the fodder.”
V was first to charge in, the razor-sharp claws that have tasted the oil of countless Worker Drones at the ready. Almost naïvely, one of the smaller bugs raced forward to meet her, and was instead instantly cut down the middle by one of the blades on her wings. V only cackled maniacally as green splotches and guts flew in every direction, changing her right hand in lieu of an M19 45mm assault rifle. Before she could fire off a round, J kicked another bug that looked like an armored scorpion. The claws themselves looked like they were sharper than an obsidian knife, and the armoring it bore looked like it could stop an artillery shell in it's tracks.
But looks can be deceiving, can't they?
It skidded across the sand, digging its claws into the sand and stopping itself just five feet away. J quickly followed up by a clean sword strike, making the creature roar in pain as a small gash was created, rendering the creature half-blind. Almost like they had coordinated and practiced this for years, V followed up with another claw strike, completely blinding the creature, then flying upwards and cleanly slicing off its tail and shooting it in the back of the head, spraying a sickly green all over.
The creature went limp, and V couldn't help but sadistically smile as she gazed upon her handiwork, hovering over the dead bug for a short while before floating down beside J. J, on the other hand, only stared at the corpse, her optics hollowed. A slow, dull-burning bile slowly climbed up her throat the more she looked at the thing, but she couldn't tear her gaze away. Her own eyes disobeyed her commands, and they fixed themselves upon the corpse, unwilling to look at anything else.
CORE MEMORY ESTABLISHED.
Before J could even stabilize herself, and try her hardest to shake off the growing nausea, tens of the small bugs were upon her, only to get blasted to green splotches by a still-cackling V. Before V could fill the remaining four with lead, J quickly swiped forward, cutting the back of the tiny bug that was just about to pounce on her clean off, her optics still hollowed, and her breath still shaky and shallowed. J’s optics fell to the dripping green liquid on her blade, and the once-cream colored sand now stained a ghastly green and yellowish red. J swiped downward once again, flicking the blood off of her blade before changing it back into a regular hand. Her optics flit nervously over their surroundings, spotting two burrow-looking things in the distance. It glowed a bright orange, as if something was in there that was a source of blinding light.
“Tell me, do you all have grenades by any chance?” Andrew asked, turning to N, who was also watching the burrow with a curious gaze, trying not to pay any attention to the now actively-decomposing corpse of the scorpion-bug thing. V felt a small ping in her stomach as her gaze fell to the corpse once more. Her face contorted in disgust as she watched the thing for a short while, before tearing her eyes away.
“Do small rockets work?” N asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Andrew wordlessly shook his head. Without even looking in the short, still-shaking teen’s direction, he threw a grenade in her direction, to which she caught. Almost instantaneously, the worker threw the grenade away, not even bothering to check if the Sergeant had pulled the pin or not. The grenade landed a couple feet away, and the four waited for an explosion.
“I didn’t pull the pin, now go get it. You pull the pin, and throw it in there.” He said, pointing a finger to the burrow. Uzi’s nerves frayed as she went to pick the grenade up. With it in hand, the Worker hooked a finger on the pin.
There was a moment’s hesitation before the short teen pulled the pin and threw the grenade towards the burrow. The small explosive went straight into the hole, the sounds of stone and dirt against metal faintly heard as it clacked and clicked against the sharpened and jagged stone before exploding, the flames belching out of the opening of the burrow like it was some sort of hibernating fire-breathing dragon as the glow faded away. But the resulting smell… It was appalling, for lack of any better term. The air reeked of rotten meat, and a sewer in a heatwave combined. It made all four of the drones almost double over and vomit, but Andrew remained still.
He would be lying if he said he didn’t want to do the same, but his experience as a Helldiver had hardened him to the point where he simply would not allow his body to do it. Though the nauseated group of drones could not see it, Andrew smiled. It wasn’t noticeable. No, not at all. It was small, and would be barely noticeable even if he had his helmet off. He slowly clapped, not loudly, but just enough for the drones to hear it.
“Well done. But that’s certainly ain't all of 'em….” Andrew's words blurred as the smell subsided, and reality once again hit the four like a punch from Mike Tyson in his prime. Were there any other bugs? Stronger ones, bigger ones? Were there more of those that pounced on J? Would they all survive being on this hellhole? Thousands of questions raced through the four drones’ heads, yet none dared to speak them out. Without showing any sort of emotion, V silently tried to will the countless rushing questions away to silence and oblivion in vain.
The minutes slowly trickled by into just as slow-passing hours as the five trekked across the desert, clearing nest after nest. J came to expect and estimate the strikes of the Stalkers as Andrew said they were referred to.
“I've seen men die to those things in ways you can't even begin to imagine. Stay on guard, or you'll join them someday. They'll use camo, get the jump on you. They're a tanky bunch, too. They can take a real beating.” He explained to J just a half hour ago. These things were truly nothing to scoff at, and if J was to be honest, they terrified her. Andrew caught her shaking while they were coming up on yet another nest. By now, they were all covered in green and red, and the recent gunshots from their previous nest clearing still echoed in her mind. Almost spontaneously, Andrew held up his arm, signaling a halt.
“Do not show fear.” He said, his voice monotone and almost callous. “The more you start shaking like you’re a leaf in autumn, the more bugs will be attracted to you. They love it when their enemy shows fear. They will swarm you, and leave nothing left.”
He once again began swiping on the small screen, throwing over yet another beacon at the hive. “Wait for it.”
About five seconds later, the sound of a shell firing off in the distance was barely even heard before a moderately-sized explosion rocked the landscape, the small plume rising up as if it was a nuclear missile.
“Alrighty, this is the place. You all will have your first tastes of what it's like to be a Helldiver.” That very same pride returned to his voice, a small chuckle slipping out as he swiped on the small screen again, calling down a small capsule that extended upwards a couple feet. A small metallic-silver colored drone flew upwards from a small compartment on the base of the flag post, flying around the flag before a camera slowly slid out from the bottom. It turned on, casting a small blue light as it played what the four drones could only assume to be the anthem.
It was a very soothing, almost hypnotic melody that made even V slightly sway her head along to the song, though the drone silently prayed that nobody saw her do it. Yet she had a gut feeling that the Helldiver currently saluting and quietly whisper-singing along to the anthem had seen her. The singing was whispered, yet it was just audible enough for V to hear it, being the closest to him.
“Freedom must reign over ev’ry last star… Through citizens lost in the all-righteous wars… Honor their deaths, do your part for the cause…”
Though none could see it, Andrew allowed another small smile to cross his face as the very same white-yellow-blue flag finally sprung outward, fluttering proudly in the sand-filled winds. Her gaze fell to Uzi, who had stopped tapping her foot to the melody, making direct eye contact with the murder drone, which was quickly broken.
“Steadfast support, of our regime, is how humankind will reign supreme. No questions or doubts, shall be allowed… Traitors will all be disavowed…”
Eventually, the symphony stopped, much to some of the group's dismay. Andrew took a couple more seconds to admire the flag as if it was an ancient treasure worth all of the galaxy’s gold. Another blue beacon lit up far in the distance, prompting N to look to it almost instinctively. It was about ten minutes’ fly to the location, and it looked like their ticket out of this hellhole. All of the four drones collectively breathed a sigh of complete relief, swiping off some pixelated sweat droplets from their visors. It was tiring to even spread their wings to flying extent, much less take off in the sweltering heat. Their limbs strained as the four drones once again took off, this time with much more effort, each of the four’s breaths labored, shaky, and sharp as they once again took off through the sand-caked wind, soon followed by Rex.
Without looking at the Sergeant, instead focusing on the now-brewing sandstorm right smack in the middle of the extraction zone. This was going to be one long day. With the amount of sand she was flying through, Uzi could swear her hair had changed its color to that of the sand. Some of it even flew into her mouth, which the teen quickly spluttered out. “Gahd, I didn't sign up for this..” She muttered under her breath. She was just a teenager, an eighteen-year-old being thrown through one nightmare after another, as if God himself wished to test her limits. She picked up speed, trying her damn hardest to ignore the knot in her stomach. Despite all of her effort to logically reason with herself, one half of her couldn't help but have the growing dreadful feeling that this was just the beginning. The sandstorm was coming up, and quickly. Before the five even knew it, they had charged headfirst into the gaping maw of the sandstorm. The winds tossed them around as if they all were ragdolls, threatening to knock each and every one of them out of the air.
“DOWN, DOWN!” Andrew shouted through the loudly whistling wind. Almost as if they were all waiting for the command, the four drones immediately dove downwards towards the small computer at the top of the plateau they were coming up on along with their Helldiver comrade. The ground came up quicker than any of them thought it would, whether it be from the absolutely kicking wind or the constant sand streams obstructing their vision. They landed roughly, Uzi being first to land. She landed shoulder-first, a sickening crack followed by a shout of pain shooting through the air that even the howling wind could not hide. The rest got off quite easy, with minor bruises and cuts, save for Andrew. His armor had only slightly dented, and it was practically invisible to any eye anyway.
“Mother of…” She almost swore through ground teeth as she cradled her limp arm. Trying to move the arm only reaped a spike of white-hot pain that moved throughout her body like a thunderstorm.
“Helldiver to Pelican-1, we got company. The good kind. Make sure you have a table for five.” Andrew said, which was then followed by almost inaudible speaking coming from the Helldiver’s helmet that the four drones could barely hear at all. Spotting her broken arm, Andrew calmly jogged up to the pained drone and took out a sort of syringe from a small pouch on his right breastplate. He raised his arm back, tapping the teen on the shoulder, which made her immediately turn her head towards him. “This is gonna sting, alright? It's a stim, it'll help with the wound.”
“N-no, I can-” Uzi was cut short by a stinging feeling, then a subsequent… Damn, this felt good. It felt like she was back to normal, and her arm worked fine. It even looked like it had completely regenerated, and the fatigue that came with flying through a sandstorm was completely gone. To say that she felt better than ever was a complete understatement. Uzi rolled her arm, expecting another shot of pain that never came as she staggered up through the storm. “Holy shit… What the hell was in that thing?”
“I don't know. Ministry of Truth and the scientists that made it know. All I, and you all gotta know is that it works.” Andrew shrugged, his voice stern and clear, but rushed. Like he wanted to change the topic. Uzi caught his tone, but did not speak of it, instead giving a nod. The sound of thrusters dying down pierced the air as the very same sleek black VTOL slowly descended, not even affected by the raging thunderstorm. “Oi, Scott. Who's the newbies? They ain't bots, that's for sure.” What the four drones could only assume was who the Sergeant called “Pelican-1”.
“They're with me. Hope you got an extra seat.” He gruffly replied, gesturing for the dumbfounded drones to come with him to the back. Without much of a choice, given the barren desert, and the lack of any hope of getting off of this place besides the VTOL currently on the ground, they followed.
“Ay, y'all hurry your asses up ‘fore I get sand in my seats again. Took ages to clean that out.”
“Yeah, yeah. We're going, Pelican.” Andrew replied, his voice a mix of irritation, and camaraderie, as if he was speaking with a lifelong friend. The group clamored into the surprisingly spacious back of the VTOL, the ramp closing behind them the moment they all entered. The metallic gray door to the cockpit swooshed open, and out of it was a man dressed in all-black pilot gear, the Super Earth insignia stitched onto his left breast almost perfectly. “Shotgun's vacant, anyone want?”
J shot up, keen on not sitting next to Uzi, muttering a quick “thank you” before softly nudging past the pilot, taking the seat. The pilot took a deep, audible breath, his shoulders rising and falling in quick succession. “Scott, I hope you know what you're doing.” His voice turned from lightly jabbing, but lively, to straight-to-the-point, somewhat irritated and monotone. He quickly slipped back into the cockpit as the VTOL took off, effortlessly shooting past the atmosphere and into the inky black vacuum of space.
"Yeah, I do too."
Before any of the four drones knew it, they had docked on the Super Destroyer once more. Nearby, near the galactic map, the Sergeant was deep in conversation with Pelican-1, the two hunched over on different sides of the table, pointing to planets as if they were chess pieces. To the left of the table, where Pelican was, was a series of red, some darker than others. On Andrew's side, was yellow, some lighter than others. All other planets were covered in blue, with Super Earth in the middle, along with another much smaller planet beside it. N had just come out of the barracks, wearing that bright smile the four drones came to know him for. The tear streaks were well hidden, almost completely invisible to the naked eye. V was… God only knew where she went, and J was fighting with Uzi, as per usual.
Damn, he was happy the rooms were soundproof.
“Alright, listen up!” Andrew’s raised voice cut like a sharpened blade through the air, making each of the three present drones freeze. He sounded pissed, but for the approximately five hours they had known the Welshman, he always sounded pissed in some way. The sound of distant slurping was heard as it got louder and louder. V came through the West door, some sort of iced coffee in hand, slurping through a straw.
“Oi, read the room.” Pelican said, his voice echoing through the quiet bridge. The slurping stopped almost immediately.
“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” Andrew snarled, giving V a side eye that nobody saw due to to his helmet. “From here, you all are going to Mars. There, you will stay for 5-10 months, and become proper Helldivers, which you will then come back here, as I have personally arranged. I wish you all good luck.”
Those words sent cold chills down each drone’s spine, and confirmed Uzi's worst fear. This was truly just the beginning.
Author's Ramblings: Yeah, this is truly Just the beginning. TRIPLE POST INCOMING HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE-
I pity these poor drones. They don't know what's coming..
I gazed a gazeless stare, we walked a million hills, I must have died alone... A long, long time ago... Who knows? Not me. I never lost control... You're face, to face, With the man who sold the world....
submitted by No_Dark9371 to MurderDrones [link] [comments]
Well, the name certainly fits. The heat that felt like it had been extracted straight from the Sun, the fire tornadoes, the barren and lifeless desert. Certainly something that would exist only in a place like Hell. All across the section of the planet they were on, were red-striped circles that pulsed on the map. Some were relatively small, others medium-sized.
Okay, perhaps this wasn't all bad. Uzi had played more than enough shooter games to know what those were, and the laughably small enemy outposts could be cleared by just about anyone here without breaking a sweat. Well, not more than they already were. The heat had all four of the drones practically sweating bullets, and the desert that stretched on for miles was certainly not helping.
But at least the worker hoped they could clear them all effortlessly.
The sand-filled winds slightly blew the teen's dull purple hair to the left, and stuck a few sand grains in her hair, which went unnoticed even by Uzi herself. A small smirk crossed her face, and the tingling sensation ceased, and her mind's racing slowed, if only by a little.
Andrew swiped one finger on the small screen, moving the map to one of the moderately-sized circles, marking the center of it.
“I hope you all aren't afraid of bugs.” The moment the word bugs was uttered, J noticeably tensed. Even though the murder drone was hoping the Sergeant hadn't seen it, the feeling of a pair of eyes burning into her back told the Disassembly Drone otherwise. Trying to will both the tension, and the mounting fear of what resides on this planet away but to no avail, J turned on her heel, facing the Sergeant and looking at the holomap. The circle he had marked wasn't far from here, just a couple minutes’ walk away.
J was damn thankful she had wings. Even if she wanted to walk the distance, the heat would render her immobile her before she could even get a considerable distance. The white-hot sand-filled winds themselves were already slightly distorting her vision anyway, and there was no way in Hell she was dying here. She leapt into the scalding-hot air, stretching her wings to half capacity, and was soon followed by the other three drones.
‘Guess they were just as steaming as I am.’
“If I'm gonna be honest here, I thought those were for gliding.” Andrew quipped to himself, shrugging. His eyes followed the drones as they leapt into the air and watched as they flew off. Sighing heavily, Andrew flipped off the holomap and swiped on his screen once more and threw down another beacon. After a couple seconds, another pod came crashing down, and with it, a jetpack. Soon, the Sergeant was also in the air, flying off to meet the drones.
After a minute of flying, V spotted what looked like overgrown cockroaches. Some were green, others orange, and there was one large creature that was white and red. Almost the very moment V laid eyes on the creature, its head almost demonically snapped up towards the drone.
Then it disappeared. ‘Dear Robo-Christ, it fucking disappeared.’
V opened her mouth, but the sound of a jetpack’s boosters shut it. She was once again face to face with the now-flying Helldiver. All three of the drones stopped flying, instead hovering in the air, surprise and confusion written all over their faces. V quirked an eyebrow at the jetpack, examining it as if it was some foreign object.
“What?” Andrew was first to break the silence, a Welsh edge to his voice. “Never seen a jetpack before?”
He was met with collective head shakes. Half because they had never seen a jetpack, and the other out of disappointment because they had failed to pick up the fact that he was Welsh earlier.
“Jetpacks are heavily outdated where we come from. They stopped using them centuries ago.” Uzi explained.
A dead silence.
“Centuries?” Andrew wasn't sure if he was just hearing things, or something. Centuries ago? “Okay, what year do you people come from?” He said, half-expecting them to recite the present year. “Actually, disregard that. What year is it?”
“3071?” N replied. That completely shattered the Sergeant's expectation.
“Aw, hell nah. This is some back to the future bullshit.” Andrew groaned, facepalming as he hovered down to the bugs, muttering strings of swears under his breath. He was quickly followed by the four drones, but the sound of the Sergeant's boosters alerted the bugs. It didn't do much of anything to deter the Helldiver, as he landed on one of the bugs, crushing it's head and spraying a nauseating green all over his legs and lower torso.
He was soon followed by J. But before she could touch down, she was pinned down by the very same creature that had disappeared after making eye contact with her. The startled drone's optics hollowed as she tried to wrestle herself out of its hold, to no avail. It raised one of its legs, and thrust it down, skewering her torso and using the other to tear her in half before it was subsequently shot dead by the Sergeant. J was still, lifeless. Just as she was when she was shot on the ship. Her gray intestines and various other organs hung out, strung every which way in the desert sands.
Andrew would be lying if he said he wasn't completely sick to his stomach watching that. He had seen men fall to these creatures, yes, but this… It struck a nerve in him. The way the corpse was sprawled, it made him remember another. All over the concrete, barely breathing. Barely alive.
The sound of tires screeching, the heart-wrenching and blood-curdling screams of children, the deafening sound of metal on metal.
"Lloyd..?"
Andrew nearly jumped out of his armor and skin the moment he heard that voice. It was one he hadn't heard in years. A feminine one. A soothing, Welsh feminine voice, yet rough around the edges. Just as quickly as it came, the voice disappeared, and Andrew was once again staring at J and the bug's dead bodies.
“I… I need a moment.” Uzi stammered, a vomit green covering her visor as she staggered away to a nearby dead tree, then proceeding to vomit her guts out on the spot.
Without even flinching but inwardly nauseated, Andrew patiently waited for J to reconstruct and get back up. And just as he expected, it slowly began. Slowly yet surely, the drone reconstructed herself, and just as quickly as she had fallen, she had gotten back up. Even though he had been unmoving on the outside, there was a bile building up in the Sergeant's throat that cost him all of his willpower just to hold down.
‘Mental note: Never stare at dead drones again.’
Just faintly, Andrew could still hear the shrieks of two child-like voices and still feel the harrowing feeling of floating upwards, then being thrown out of glass. The spiking pain of the shards, the white-hot sensation of landing on pavement.
Andrew shook his head ever so slightly, trying to wrest the memories away once more, but to no avail.
The planet seemed to tremor as more bugs burrowed out of the ground. They varied in size, but most were rather small. All three drones’ optics hollowed as they began to get into defensive stances. V looked to the Sergeant, half-expecting a signal. All he did was gesture towards the bugs. “Let's see how you all fare against the fodder.”
V was first to charge in, the razor-sharp claws that have tasted the oil of countless Worker Drones at the ready. Almost naïvely, one of the smaller bugs raced forward to meet her, and was instead instantly cut down the middle by one of the blades on her wings. V only cackled maniacally as green splotches and guts flew in every direction, changing her right hand in lieu of an M19 45mm assault rifle. Before she could fire off a round, J kicked another bug that looked like an armored scorpion. The claws themselves looked like they were sharper than an obsidian knife, and the armoring it bore looked like it could stop an artillery shell in it's tracks.
But looks can be deceiving, can't they?
It skidded across the sand, digging its claws into the sand and stopping itself just five feet away. J quickly followed up by a clean sword strike, making the creature roar in pain as a small gash was created, rendering the creature half-blind. Almost like they had coordinated and practiced this for years, V followed up with another claw strike, completely blinding the creature, then flying upwards and cleanly slicing off its tail and shooting it in the back of the head, spraying a sickly green all over.
The creature went limp, and V couldn't help but sadistically smile as she gazed upon her handiwork, hovering over the dead bug for a short while before floating down beside J. J, on the other hand, only stared at the corpse, her optics hollowed. A slow, dull-burning bile slowly climbed up her throat the more she looked at the thing, but she couldn't tear her gaze away. Her own eyes disobeyed her commands, and they fixed themselves upon the corpse, unwilling to look at anything else.
CORE MEMORY ESTABLISHED.
Before J could even stabilize herself, and try her hardest to shake off the growing nausea, tens of the small bugs were upon her, only to get blasted to green splotches by a still-cackling V. Before V could fill the remaining four with lead, J quickly swiped forward, cutting the back of the tiny bug that was just about to pounce on her clean off, her optics still hollowed, and her breath still shaky and shallowed. J’s optics fell to the dripping green liquid on her blade, and the once-cream colored sand now stained a ghastly green and yellowish red. J swiped downward once again, flicking the blood off of her blade before changing it back into a regular hand. Her optics flit nervously over their surroundings, spotting two burrow-looking things in the distance. It glowed a bright orange, as if something was in there that was a source of blinding light.
“Tell me, do you all have grenades by any chance?” Andrew asked, turning to N, who was also watching the burrow with a curious gaze, trying not to pay any attention to the now actively-decomposing corpse of the scorpion-bug thing. V felt a small ping in her stomach as her gaze fell to the corpse once more. Her face contorted in disgust as she watched the thing for a short while, before tearing her eyes away.
“Do small rockets work?” N asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Andrew wordlessly shook his head. Without even looking in the short, still-shaking teen’s direction, he threw a grenade in her direction, to which she caught. Almost instantaneously, the worker threw the grenade away, not even bothering to check if the Sergeant had pulled the pin or not. The grenade landed a couple feet away, and the four waited for an explosion.
“I didn’t pull the pin, now go get it. You pull the pin, and throw it in there.” He said, pointing a finger to the burrow. Uzi’s nerves frayed as she went to pick the grenade up. With it in hand, the Worker hooked a finger on the pin.
There was a moment’s hesitation before the short teen pulled the pin and threw the grenade towards the burrow. The small explosive went straight into the hole, the sounds of stone and dirt against metal faintly heard as it clacked and clicked against the sharpened and jagged stone before exploding, the flames belching out of the opening of the burrow like it was some sort of hibernating fire-breathing dragon as the glow faded away. But the resulting smell… It was appalling, for lack of any better term. The air reeked of rotten meat, and a sewer in a heatwave combined. It made all four of the drones almost double over and vomit, but Andrew remained still.
He would be lying if he said he didn’t want to do the same, but his experience as a Helldiver had hardened him to the point where he simply would not allow his body to do it. Though the nauseated group of drones could not see it, Andrew smiled. It wasn’t noticeable. No, not at all. It was small, and would be barely noticeable even if he had his helmet off. He slowly clapped, not loudly, but just enough for the drones to hear it.
“Well done. But that’s certainly ain't all of 'em….” Andrew's words blurred as the smell subsided, and reality once again hit the four like a punch from Mike Tyson in his prime. Were there any other bugs? Stronger ones, bigger ones? Were there more of those that pounced on J? Would they all survive being on this hellhole? Thousands of questions raced through the four drones’ heads, yet none dared to speak them out. Without showing any sort of emotion, V silently tried to will the countless rushing questions away to silence and oblivion in vain.
The minutes slowly trickled by into just as slow-passing hours as the five trekked across the desert, clearing nest after nest. J came to expect and estimate the strikes of the Stalkers as Andrew said they were referred to.
“I've seen men die to those things in ways you can't even begin to imagine. Stay on guard, or you'll join them someday. They'll use camo, get the jump on you. They're a tanky bunch, too. They can take a real beating.” He explained to J just a half hour ago. These things were truly nothing to scoff at, and if J was to be honest, they terrified her. Andrew caught her shaking while they were coming up on yet another nest. By now, they were all covered in green and red, and the recent gunshots from their previous nest clearing still echoed in her mind. Almost spontaneously, Andrew held up his arm, signaling a halt.
“Do not show fear.” He said, his voice monotone and almost callous. “The more you start shaking like you’re a leaf in autumn, the more bugs will be attracted to you. They love it when their enemy shows fear. They will swarm you, and leave nothing left.”
He once again began swiping on the small screen, throwing over yet another beacon at the hive. “Wait for it.”
About five seconds later, the sound of a shell firing off in the distance was barely even heard before a moderately-sized explosion rocked the landscape, the small plume rising up as if it was a nuclear missile.
“Alrighty, this is the place. You all will have your first tastes of what it's like to be a Helldiver.” That very same pride returned to his voice, a small chuckle slipping out as he swiped on the small screen again, calling down a small capsule that extended upwards a couple feet. A small metallic-silver colored drone flew upwards from a small compartment on the base of the flag post, flying around the flag before a camera slowly slid out from the bottom. It turned on, casting a small blue light as it played what the four drones could only assume to be the anthem.
It was a very soothing, almost hypnotic melody that made even V slightly sway her head along to the song, though the drone silently prayed that nobody saw her do it. Yet she had a gut feeling that the Helldiver currently saluting and quietly whisper-singing along to the anthem had seen her. The singing was whispered, yet it was just audible enough for V to hear it, being the closest to him.
“Freedom must reign over ev’ry last star… Through citizens lost in the all-righteous wars… Honor their deaths, do your part for the cause…”
Though none could see it, Andrew allowed another small smile to cross his face as the very same white-yellow-blue flag finally sprung outward, fluttering proudly in the sand-filled winds. Her gaze fell to Uzi, who had stopped tapping her foot to the melody, making direct eye contact with the murder drone, which was quickly broken.
“Steadfast support, of our regime, is how humankind will reign supreme. No questions or doubts, shall be allowed… Traitors will all be disavowed…”
Eventually, the symphony stopped, much to some of the group's dismay. Andrew took a couple more seconds to admire the flag as if it was an ancient treasure worth all of the galaxy’s gold. Another blue beacon lit up far in the distance, prompting N to look to it almost instinctively. It was about ten minutes’ fly to the location, and it looked like their ticket out of this hellhole. All of the four drones collectively breathed a sigh of complete relief, swiping off some pixelated sweat droplets from their visors. It was tiring to even spread their wings to flying extent, much less take off in the sweltering heat. Their limbs strained as the four drones once again took off, this time with much more effort, each of the four’s breaths labored, shaky, and sharp as they once again took off through the sand-caked wind, soon followed by Rex.
Without looking at the Sergeant, instead focusing on the now-brewing sandstorm right smack in the middle of the extraction zone. This was going to be one long day. With the amount of sand she was flying through, Uzi could swear her hair had changed its color to that of the sand. Some of it even flew into her mouth, which the teen quickly spluttered out. “Gahd, I didn't sign up for this..” She muttered under her breath. She was just a teenager, an eighteen-year-old being thrown through one nightmare after another, as if God himself wished to test her limits. She picked up speed, trying her damn hardest to ignore the knot in her stomach. Despite all of her effort to logically reason with herself, one half of her couldn't help but have the growing dreadful feeling that this was just the beginning. The sandstorm was coming up, and quickly. Before the five even knew it, they had charged headfirst into the gaping maw of the sandstorm. The winds tossed them around as if they all were ragdolls, threatening to knock each and every one of them out of the air.
“DOWN, DOWN!” Andrew shouted through the loudly whistling wind. Almost as if they were all waiting for the command, the four drones immediately dove downwards towards the small computer at the top of the plateau they were coming up on along with their Helldiver comrade. The ground came up quicker than any of them thought it would, whether it be from the absolutely kicking wind or the constant sand streams obstructing their vision. They landed roughly, Uzi being first to land. She landed shoulder-first, a sickening crack followed by a shout of pain shooting through the air that even the howling wind could not hide. The rest got off quite easy, with minor bruises and cuts, save for Andrew. His armor had only slightly dented, and it was practically invisible to any eye anyway.
“Mother of…” She almost swore through ground teeth as she cradled her limp arm. Trying to move the arm only reaped a spike of white-hot pain that moved throughout her body like a thunderstorm.
“Helldiver to Pelican-1, we got company. The good kind. Make sure you have a table for five.” Andrew said, which was then followed by almost inaudible speaking coming from the Helldiver’s helmet that the four drones could barely hear at all. Spotting her broken arm, Andrew calmly jogged up to the pained drone and took out a sort of syringe from a small pouch on his right breastplate. He raised his arm back, tapping the teen on the shoulder, which made her immediately turn her head towards him. “This is gonna sting, alright? It's a stim, it'll help with the wound.”
“N-no, I can-” Uzi was cut short by a stinging feeling, then a subsequent… Damn, this felt good. It felt like she was back to normal, and her arm worked fine. It even looked like it had completely regenerated, and the fatigue that came with flying through a sandstorm was completely gone. To say that she felt better than ever was a complete understatement. Uzi rolled her arm, expecting another shot of pain that never came as she staggered up through the storm. “Holy shit… What the hell was in that thing?”
“I don't know. Ministry of Truth and the scientists that made it know. All I, and you all gotta know is that it works.” Andrew shrugged, his voice stern and clear, but rushed. Like he wanted to change the topic. Uzi caught his tone, but did not speak of it, instead giving a nod. The sound of thrusters dying down pierced the air as the very same sleek black VTOL slowly descended, not even affected by the raging thunderstorm. “Oi, Scott. Who's the newbies? They ain't bots, that's for sure.” What the four drones could only assume was who the Sergeant called “Pelican-1”.
“They're with me. Hope you got an extra seat.” He gruffly replied, gesturing for the dumbfounded drones to come with him to the back. Without much of a choice, given the barren desert, and the lack of any hope of getting off of this place besides the VTOL currently on the ground, they followed.
“Ay, y'all hurry your asses up ‘fore I get sand in my seats again. Took ages to clean that out.”
“Yeah, yeah. We're going, Pelican.” Andrew replied, his voice a mix of irritation, and camaraderie, as if he was speaking with a lifelong friend. The group clamored into the surprisingly spacious back of the VTOL, the ramp closing behind them the moment they all entered. The metallic gray door to the cockpit swooshed open, and out of it was a man dressed in all-black pilot gear, the Super Earth insignia stitched onto his left breast almost perfectly. “Shotgun's vacant, anyone want?”
J shot up, keen on not sitting next to Uzi, muttering a quick “thank you” before softly nudging past the pilot, taking the seat. The pilot took a deep, audible breath, his shoulders rising and falling in quick succession. “Scott, I hope you know what you're doing.” His voice turned from lightly jabbing, but lively, to straight-to-the-point, somewhat irritated and monotone. He quickly slipped back into the cockpit as the VTOL took off, effortlessly shooting past the atmosphere and into the inky black vacuum of space.
"Yeah, I do too."
Before any of the four drones knew it, they had docked on the Super Destroyer once more. Nearby, near the galactic map, the Sergeant was deep in conversation with Pelican-1, the two hunched over on different sides of the table, pointing to planets as if they were chess pieces. To the left of the table, where Pelican was, was a series of red, some darker than others. On Andrew's side, was yellow, some lighter than others. All other planets were covered in blue, with Super Earth in the middle, along with another much smaller planet beside it. N had just come out of the barracks, wearing that bright smile the four drones came to know him for. The tear streaks were well hidden, almost completely invisible to the naked eye. V was… God only knew where she went, and J was fighting with Uzi, as per usual.
Damn, he was happy the rooms were soundproof.
“Alright, listen up!” Andrew’s raised voice cut like a sharpened blade through the air, making each of the three present drones freeze. He sounded pissed, but for the approximately five hours they had known the Welshman, he always sounded pissed in some way. The sound of distant slurping was heard as it got louder and louder. V came through the West door, some sort of iced coffee in hand, slurping through a straw.
“Oi, read the room.” Pelican said, his voice echoing through the quiet bridge. The slurping stopped almost immediately.
“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” Andrew snarled, giving V a side eye that nobody saw due to to his helmet. “From here, you all are going to Mars. There, you will stay for 5-10 months, and become proper Helldivers, which you will then come back here, as I have personally arranged. I wish you all good luck.”
Those words sent cold chills down each drone’s spine, and confirmed Uzi's worst fear. This was truly just the beginning.
Author's Ramblings: Yeah, this is truly Just the beginning. TRIPLE POST INCOMING HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE-
I pity these poor drones. They don't know what's coming..
I gazed a gazeless stare, we walked a million hills, I must have died alone... A long, long time ago... Who knows? Not me. I never lost control... You're face, to face, With the man who sold the world....
2024.05.27 20:05 Tricky_Mycologist_67 Celebrity Hypno Rp (Femdom)
 | The lights around the bar dimmed; "no going back now" Grant thought to himself. He knew there was no reason for him to be nervous; he wanted this, but yet, a pit had formed in his stomach. submitted by Tricky_Mycologist_67 to Celebrity_Fantasies2 [link] [comments] A voice boomed over the audience, “ladies and gentlemen, for your pleasure, please welcome to the stage, the one, the only, Ms. Hypnotica." A polite applause echoed through the bar as the stage lights revealed a woman and a row of chairs. “Hey, how is everyone doing tonight?†The crowd made some noise. “Good. Good. You guys ready to have some fun?†The crowd roared, louder than the before. “Excellent. Now, before we begin the show, can I get a show of hands, who here believes that this is fake in some way or another?†A few hands in the audience went up. “That’s okay, you won’t hurt my feelings, please be honest.†Ms. Hypnotica repeated her question, “who here doesn’t believe that hypnosis is real?†More hands in the audience went up. She climbed off the stage and started walking through the crowd, taking note of those with their hands up. “This is, as you should all be aware, an adult stage hypnosis show. That said, hypnosis is more meditation than mind control; I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do, but I promise if you participate you will have the time of your life.†Grant’s nerves grew as he watched the entertainer saunter through the crowed. Her confidence was intoxicating, even though most of the audience believed her to be a fraud, she was unbothered; Ms. Hypnotica knew the power she held, after all, she had built a career with it. “If you are interested in participating in tonight’s show, please close your eyes and hold both of your hands out in front of you like this.†Ms. Hypnotica clenched her fists tight and held her arms out straight in front of her as if she were a zombie with an anger issue. For Grant, this was the true point of no return. He weighed his nerves against his excitement. For as long as he could remember he had fantasized about this moment. His pants tightened at the thought of being subjugated by a powerful woman like Ms. Hypnotica. Grant sat up and pulled his chair under his table. Even though it was dark, and nobody’s eyes were on him, he still couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by his erection, by his fetish. The embarrassment almost stopped him from shutting his eyes, but he knew he would regret missing out on this opportunity. As was to be expected, people reacted differently to the suggestibility test when the Hypnotic induction was performed. One subject caught her eye immediately. A timid looking boy trying to hide himself in the back corner of the bar. She had her first subject. “In a moment I’m going to begin selecting people to go onstage. If you feel me touch your arm, I want you to imagine yourself releasing your stress. Allow yourself to feel the weight of your bucket throughout your body. Let it drag you down into a deep relaxing trance.†Ms. Hypnotica lightly touched the back of Grant’s raised hand as she whispered “sleep,†in his ear. Grant collapsed, slumping over in his chair, had Ms. Hypnotica not been there to catch him he would have almost certainly fell onto the floor. His head rested on her voluptuous breast as she guided him deeper down. Grant awoke onstage. A sea of faces looked up at him and the others who accompanied him. “Let’s give our brave volunteers a round of applause, shall we?†said Ms. Hypnotica. The audience cheered. “Now, another show of hands. Who here thinks that they’re not hypnotized?†Grant and another girl raised their hand, but the rest of the participants were either unsure Ms. Hypnotica addressed the closest to her, “Hi, what’s your name?†she asked her. Hypnotized Girl #1 replied the twenty-something, plainly. “And you don’t think you’ve been hypnotized?†questioned Ms. Hypnotica. The girl shook her head, “No.†“Interesting, if that’s true, why is it that when I touch your forehead like this,†Ms. Hypnotica reached out and lightly tapped her on the forehead. As if a switch was flicked, the woman rolled her eyes into her head before she collapsed into the lap of the woman next to her. “you drop back down into trace?†Bryce Dallas Howard Christina Hendricks Salma Hayek Scarlett Johansson Brie Lasron Hypnotized Girl 1(the sub): Madelaine Petsch Hailee Steinfield Kim Kardashian Jenna Ortega Camila Mendes Also I have included some of my fav. hypnosis methods So feel free to select any ! The rules are as usual, no short replies and my limits are toilet vomit scat gore piss breed. Otherwise, enjoy the RP! (Reminder: Detailed and long replies will be given first priority, you cannot change the Dom characters with the Sub characters) |
2024.05.27 20:04 Tricky_Mycologist_67 Celebrity Hypno Rp (Femdom)
 | The lights around the bar dimmed; "no going back now" Grant thought to himself. He knew there was no reason for him to be nervous; he wanted this, but yet, a pit had formed in his stomach. submitted by Tricky_Mycologist_67 to Celebrity_Fantasies2 [link] [comments] A voice boomed over the audience, “ladies and gentlemen, for your pleasure, please welcome to the stage, the one, the only, Ms. Hypnotica." A polite applause echoed through the bar as the stage lights revealed a woman and a row of chairs. “Hey, how is everyone doing tonight?†The crowd made some noise. “Good. Good. You guys ready to have some fun?†The crowd roared, louder than the before. “Excellent. Now, before we begin the show, can I get a show of hands, who here believes that this is fake in some way or another?†A few hands in the audience went up. “That’s okay, you won’t hurt my feelings, please be honest.†Ms. Hypnotica repeated her question, “who here doesn’t believe that hypnosis is real?†More hands in the audience went up. She climbed off the stage and started walking through the crowd, taking note of those with their hands up. “This is, as you should all be aware, an adult stage hypnosis show. That said, hypnosis is more meditation than mind control; I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do, but I promise if you participate you will have the time of your life.†Grant’s nerves grew as he watched the entertainer saunter through the crowed. Her confidence was intoxicating, even though most of the audience believed her to be a fraud, she was unbothered; Ms. Hypnotica knew the power she held, after all, she had built a career with it. “If you are interested in participating in tonight’s show, please close your eyes and hold both of your hands out in front of you like this.†Ms. Hypnotica clenched her fists tight and held her arms out straight in front of her as if she were a zombie with an anger issue. For Grant, this was the true point of no return. He weighed his nerves against his excitement. For as long as he could remember he had fantasized about this moment. His pants tightened at the thought of being subjugated by a powerful woman like Ms. Hypnotica. Grant sat up and pulled his chair under his table. Even though it was dark, and nobody’s eyes were on him, he still couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by his erection, by his fetish. The embarrassment almost stopped him from shutting his eyes, but he knew he would regret missing out on this opportunity. As was to be expected, people reacted differently to the suggestibility test when the Hypnotic induction was performed. One subject caught her eye immediately. A timid looking boy trying to hide himself in the back corner of the bar. She had her first subject. “In a moment I’m going to begin selecting people to go onstage. If you feel me touch your arm, I want you to imagine yourself releasing your stress. Allow yourself to feel the weight of your bucket throughout your body. Let it drag you down into a deep relaxing trance.†Ms. Hypnotica lightly touched the back of Grant’s raised hand as she whispered “sleep,†in his ear. Grant collapsed, slumping over in his chair, had Ms. Hypnotica not been there to catch him he would have almost certainly fell onto the floor. His head rested on her voluptuous breast as she guided him deeper down. Grant awoke onstage. A sea of faces looked up at him and the others who accompanied him. “Let’s give our brave volunteers a round of applause, shall we?†said Ms. Hypnotica. The audience cheered. “Now, another show of hands. Who here thinks that they’re not hypnotized?†Grant and another girl raised their hand, but the rest of the participants were either unsure Ms. Hypnotica addressed the closest to her, “Hi, what’s your name?†she asked her. Hypnotized Girl #1 replied the twenty-something, plainly. “And you don’t think you’ve been hypnotized?†questioned Ms. Hypnotica. The girl shook her head, “No.†“Interesting, if that’s true, why is it that when I touch your forehead like this,†Ms. Hypnotica reached out and lightly tapped her on the forehead. As if a switch was flicked, the woman rolled her eyes into her head before she collapsed into the lap of the woman next to her. “you drop back down into trace?†Bryce Dallas Howard Christina Hendricks Salma Hayek Scarlett Johansson Brie Lasron Hypnotized Girl 1(the sub): Madelaine Petsch Hailee Steinfield Kim Kardashian Jenna Ortega Camila Mendes Also I have included some of my fav. hypnosis methods So feel free to select any ! The rules are as usual, no short replies and my limits are toilet vomit scat gore piss breed. Otherwise, enjoy the RP! (Reminder: Detailed and long replies will be given first priority, you cannot change the Dom characters with the Sub characters) |
2024.05.27 19:26 NutterInHerButt My full experience getting a root canal + crown on a premolar/molar!
I wanted to give a full overview of my root canal and permanent crown experience for those in a similar situation. I personally chipped a piece of my tooth which caused me pretty bad pain after a few weeks from the initial break. I went to the dentist and they said I would be needing a root canal since the chip went down to the nerves and a filling would not work in this case. (I got 2 opinions to make sure I actually needed a root canal) Regardless of the reason, this post should be helpful for anyone frightened or looking for more info on a root canal.
Appointment 1 Diagnosis: As mentioned, the first appointment was a simple diagnosis. X-Rays were taken to confirm that I needed a root canal and the dentist scheduled me for my next appointment for the root canal treatment. At this appointment we also discussed payment. Since my insurance would not cover a root canal or crown, my cost was completely out of pocket. It totaled $2,200 for the procedure and crown. If you want a breakdown of the price please ask me below.
Appointment 2 Root Canal: As many have mentioned, this was the most frightening appointment. I did not know what to expect and everything I had read online was pretty bad. Thankfully, I made sure to do some research on my dentist and make sure that they had performed successful root canals in the past. The appointment starts by getting numbed with the needle all around the tooth that needs treatment. They then basically begin drilling into your tooth and checking in on you to make sure you don’t feel anything. I personally felt some cold sensitivity at times and very slight pain at times but I would always tell my dentist by lifting my left arm and she would give me more anesthesia. The rest is pretty typical, they clean out the roots and fill them with those plastic wire looking things and finish with a filling to cover the whole procedure. As mentioned I felt very little pain, and when I did I made sure to let the dentist know to numb me. After the procedure I felt the most pain, slight to moderate, since it felt sore and some pain around the tooth, but it should not feel like aching pain since the nerves are no longer there to transmit pain. I took some ibuprofen and was good to go. My next appointment was about 6 days after for crown prep. (P.S I recommend avoiding eating on it as you could cause more pain or for the filling to fall and cause more complications)
Appointment 2 Crown Prep: Since I was given a temporary filling, they still had to prep my tooth for a temporary crown and take the molds for the permanent crown. This was a pretty long appointment but I was also numbed for the whole procedure. This appointment begins by drilling all around your tooth to basically only leave a stump. They then have you take a lot of molds with some weird gum like substance that kinda gets all over your teeth. The only time I experienced pain was when they would put a wire around the tooth under the gums. This is to get an accurate mold of the whole tooth. Since the appointment was long my anesthesia was wearing off so I felt moderate pain during this but the dentist numbed me again so the procedure went smooth afterwards. To finish off they put on a poorly made temporary crown so you can chew and have something in place while the real one comes in (typically takes around 2-3 weeks). After the appointment I had slight pain, mostly soreness and irritation from all the numbing and the long appointment. The gums around the tooth also hurt fairly bad but nothing ibuprofen couldn’t handle. ONCE AGAIN, you should not feel pain inside the tooth as it is effectively dead, only pain around the tooth should be typical. After a day or 2 I felt pretty darn good. I avoided eating on the temporary crown for around 5-6 days but after I only ate soft foods with that side. NOTE: I was told not to floss or brush it hard as the temporary crown can fall off easily.
Appointment 3 Permanent Crown 👑: This meeting was quick and easy, they basically just pull off the temp crown and test fit the permanent crown before cementing it. I did not get numbed for this but they did give me the option in case I felt pain. I felt very slight pain when they pulled on my gums a bit to fit the crown in right but other than that just some mild discomfort. They also test the bite to make sure it doesn’t hurt or feel weird, thankfully my bite felt great right away so they went ahead and permanently cemented it.
Aftermath (about 2 weeks post treatment): I feel great. The crown seems to fit perfectly fine and I do not have any pain at the moment. I can eat like normal. Right after the permanent crown the tooth did feel funky and sore. When I would bite hard on something it would slightly hurt but that’s to be expected while you get used to the crown. I tired to eat mostly soft foods for the initial week after but I then transitioned to harder foods and it felt good with time. At the moment I am very satisfied but I’ll keep commenting on this post if I experience and later complications.
The comments are open to any questions that I did not cover. Everyone’s experience is different but my main take away is don’t be afraid and make sure to talk in depth with your dentist and ask all the specifics you need.
submitted by NutterInHerButt to rootcanal [link] [comments]
Appointment 1 Diagnosis: As mentioned, the first appointment was a simple diagnosis. X-Rays were taken to confirm that I needed a root canal and the dentist scheduled me for my next appointment for the root canal treatment. At this appointment we also discussed payment. Since my insurance would not cover a root canal or crown, my cost was completely out of pocket. It totaled $2,200 for the procedure and crown. If you want a breakdown of the price please ask me below.
Appointment 2 Root Canal: As many have mentioned, this was the most frightening appointment. I did not know what to expect and everything I had read online was pretty bad. Thankfully, I made sure to do some research on my dentist and make sure that they had performed successful root canals in the past. The appointment starts by getting numbed with the needle all around the tooth that needs treatment. They then basically begin drilling into your tooth and checking in on you to make sure you don’t feel anything. I personally felt some cold sensitivity at times and very slight pain at times but I would always tell my dentist by lifting my left arm and she would give me more anesthesia. The rest is pretty typical, they clean out the roots and fill them with those plastic wire looking things and finish with a filling to cover the whole procedure. As mentioned I felt very little pain, and when I did I made sure to let the dentist know to numb me. After the procedure I felt the most pain, slight to moderate, since it felt sore and some pain around the tooth, but it should not feel like aching pain since the nerves are no longer there to transmit pain. I took some ibuprofen and was good to go. My next appointment was about 6 days after for crown prep. (P.S I recommend avoiding eating on it as you could cause more pain or for the filling to fall and cause more complications)
Appointment 2 Crown Prep: Since I was given a temporary filling, they still had to prep my tooth for a temporary crown and take the molds for the permanent crown. This was a pretty long appointment but I was also numbed for the whole procedure. This appointment begins by drilling all around your tooth to basically only leave a stump. They then have you take a lot of molds with some weird gum like substance that kinda gets all over your teeth. The only time I experienced pain was when they would put a wire around the tooth under the gums. This is to get an accurate mold of the whole tooth. Since the appointment was long my anesthesia was wearing off so I felt moderate pain during this but the dentist numbed me again so the procedure went smooth afterwards. To finish off they put on a poorly made temporary crown so you can chew and have something in place while the real one comes in (typically takes around 2-3 weeks). After the appointment I had slight pain, mostly soreness and irritation from all the numbing and the long appointment. The gums around the tooth also hurt fairly bad but nothing ibuprofen couldn’t handle. ONCE AGAIN, you should not feel pain inside the tooth as it is effectively dead, only pain around the tooth should be typical. After a day or 2 I felt pretty darn good. I avoided eating on the temporary crown for around 5-6 days but after I only ate soft foods with that side. NOTE: I was told not to floss or brush it hard as the temporary crown can fall off easily.
Appointment 3 Permanent Crown 👑: This meeting was quick and easy, they basically just pull off the temp crown and test fit the permanent crown before cementing it. I did not get numbed for this but they did give me the option in case I felt pain. I felt very slight pain when they pulled on my gums a bit to fit the crown in right but other than that just some mild discomfort. They also test the bite to make sure it doesn’t hurt or feel weird, thankfully my bite felt great right away so they went ahead and permanently cemented it.
Aftermath (about 2 weeks post treatment): I feel great. The crown seems to fit perfectly fine and I do not have any pain at the moment. I can eat like normal. Right after the permanent crown the tooth did feel funky and sore. When I would bite hard on something it would slightly hurt but that’s to be expected while you get used to the crown. I tired to eat mostly soft foods for the initial week after but I then transitioned to harder foods and it felt good with time. At the moment I am very satisfied but I’ll keep commenting on this post if I experience and later complications.
The comments are open to any questions that I did not cover. Everyone’s experience is different but my main take away is don’t be afraid and make sure to talk in depth with your dentist and ask all the specifics you need.
2024.05.27 19:21 dylr88 Numbness in my right ear and back pain
35 years old, male , no known underlying health conditions, not on medication, 9 stone.
This week I been having this numbness in the right ear, the numbness would travel to the right side of the face with tingling in the lips. It fets worse slouching or sitting down in the chair or lying in bed on te right side.
Last time I felt this was in 2016, went to doctor, they did blood tests and blood pressure check, all normal and fine.
I also had back pain then, and said it could be a pinched nerve and adviced me to see a physiotherapist if it gets bad.
Since then, I been getting stiffness and occasional pain and numbness in my lower back, all mild.
This past 5 years I been getting lower back pain that comes and goes and is more noticeable, I don't have to do hard work to trigger it, and makes my knees tired and sometimes numb especially after sitting down. Last week, this numbness in my ear and face was on the left side, this week on the right.
Currently my back hurts again, but not painful, I am still able to carry heavy things, walk, run, go cycling.
Could this be related to my back?
Would it best to see my gp again or go to a physiotherapist and let them see? As my gp did say before in 2020 if my back pain gets worse or doesn't improve to see a physiotherapist.
submitted by dylr88 to AskDocs [link] [comments]
This week I been having this numbness in the right ear, the numbness would travel to the right side of the face with tingling in the lips. It fets worse slouching or sitting down in the chair or lying in bed on te right side.
Last time I felt this was in 2016, went to doctor, they did blood tests and blood pressure check, all normal and fine.
I also had back pain then, and said it could be a pinched nerve and adviced me to see a physiotherapist if it gets bad.
Since then, I been getting stiffness and occasional pain and numbness in my lower back, all mild.
This past 5 years I been getting lower back pain that comes and goes and is more noticeable, I don't have to do hard work to trigger it, and makes my knees tired and sometimes numb especially after sitting down. Last week, this numbness in my ear and face was on the left side, this week on the right.
Currently my back hurts again, but not painful, I am still able to carry heavy things, walk, run, go cycling.
Could this be related to my back?
Would it best to see my gp again or go to a physiotherapist and let them see? As my gp did say before in 2020 if my back pain gets worse or doesn't improve to see a physiotherapist.
2024.05.27 18:44 CIAHerpes I spent the night in a forest in Chernobyl with mutated animals. I found a mummified corpse holding a list of rules.
The area where we were heading in Eastern Europe was known for its radioactivity. We had received reports of strange animals, things that looked like they were hatched from a mad scientist’s laboratory. I didn’t know how much of it I believed, because some of the descriptions the survivors gave sounded more like wendigo and dogmen than any real animal. I figured that, in the heat of the moment and under attack, their minds had likely twisted the true form of the animals, horrifying as they were, into something truly nightmarish.
There were three of us heading into the dark Eastern European forests: my friend Dmitri, who was originally from the country and knew the language, his girlfriend Anna and myself. Everything seemed mundane enough as we flew into the country and handed over our passports. There was no sign of the horrors waiting ahead.
The first towns we encountered looked idyllic enough as we drove through them in a rental car. Isolated farmhouses with cows and chickens dotted the landscape. Plentiful fields of wheat, potatoes and corn stretched out on all sides of us. The black earth here was fertile, I knew. As we headed deeper into the radiation zone, however, the houses and farms all started to look abandoned and dilapidated, the fields barren and dead.
“Christ on a cracker,” I muttered, more to myself than to my friends, “this place looks like it suffered through the Apocalypse.”
“It did,” Dmitri said grimly. “A nuclear apocalypse. I feel like the Biblical one is far more optimistic than the true apocalypse will be. In reality, there will be no Rapture, no victory of light over darkness. If there is ever a World War 3, every major city will be consumed by nuclear fire. It will throw buses and cars thousands of feet into the air, spilling out bodies onto the burning skies. Entire streets will collapse, trapping countless millions under the rubble.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” Anna commented, her dark blue eyes staring out the window. I saw the reflection of white eyes skittering through the brush outside, small animals that disappeared in front of the approaching roar of the engine.
“How far is it?” I asked, feeling carsick and anxious. The winding roads here curved through countless hills. It reminded me of driving through parts of Northern California before, when I had retched out the window. Anna and Dmitri seemed unaffected, though. I cursed my stomach, which was always turning traitorous towards me.
“It’s a while, man,” Dmitri said. “This country is huge. Probably another three or four hour drive. And then we have to start walking.”
“Good thing we left before dawn,” Anna said, stifling a yawn. She had a can of some cheap Russian Red Bull knock-off, some fluorescent green crap that smelled like chemicals. But she drank it as if it were the finest French wine. I gazed out at the dark forests that passed us on both sides, wondering what kind of sights lay ahead in this land of the damned.
***
The Sun rose early over the gently rolling hills and black earth of Ukraine, sending its rusty streaks of blood across the sky. The going had been easy so far, except for the constant car sickness I felt. I took a few pills of meclizine, wishing that I could have smuggled some weed gummies through customs. But here, cannabis was illegal, and I was not eager to see the inside of an Eastern European prison, where lunatics like the Three Guys One Hammer maniacs and the Chessboard Killer lived in hellish conditions.
“Holy shit, would you look at that?” Dmitri said with awe and wonder oozing from his voice as the car braked abruptly. I looked up quickly, my stomach doing flips. But what I saw laying across the road instantly brought me back to the moment. Dmitri pointed a tattooed hand at the sight.
“Is that real?” Anna asked. I could only shake my head as we all stared at the dead bear that was laying across the cracked road, its dead eyes staring straight through us.
I noticed immediately that the bear had extra paws on its arms. Blood-stained claws jutted sharply out of its four paws, each seeming to have seven fingers. Its feet looked stunted and twisted, like the roots of a tree. An extra arm stuck out of the front of its chest, a pale, white fleshy growth emerging from its sternum. The mutated limb looked malformed and boneless, causing a sense of revulsion to rise up as I gazed on it. It flopped gently in the heavy wind that swirled down the surrounding hills.
“Well, I guess the rumors are true,” Dmitri said slowly, his eyes as wide and excited as a child. “Can you imagine what other kinds of things must be lurking in these forests? This is going to make a really awesome documentary.” Anna nodded, playing with a small, hand-held digital camera she took everywhere with her. She wanted to make a video that would finally go viral on the internet and help her gain some recognition for her work.
“I’m going to record everything, including this,” she said excitedly, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear as she opened the door of the car. Dawn had risen overhead, radiating the first warm rays of a bright summer day. After a long moment, I followed her out. Dmitri stood at her side, his dark eyes wide. He ran a trembling hand over his shaved head as he looked down at the enormous bear.
Anna zoomed in with the camera, kneeling down before the still beast. Her finely-formed fingers shook with excitement as she drew within inches of the corpse. I wondered how the bear had died, as I didn’t see any signs of injuries on the creature’s body. The next moment, I saw it blink.
I backpedaled away, giving a hoarse, guttural shout of warning. Anna was busy staring at the screen of the digital camera, scanning it across the bear’s extra fingers and limbs. But the panic that swept over Dmitri’s face showed me that he, too, had seen it. He grabbed Anna’s arm, dragging her back with sudden fury. She stumbled, her legs crossing under her. She crashed into him and they fell back together. A moment later, the bear came to life, its bones cracking as it twisted its head to look at the three of us.
It swiped a mutated paw at the place where Anna’s face had been only a moment before. I heard the sharp claws slice through the air like switchblades. The bear’s head ratcheted over to glare at us. It gnashed its teeth as silver streams of saliva flew from its shaking head. With a primal roar, it leapt off the ground. I turned to run back to the safety of the car, but I nearly tripped when a pale figure streaked out of the forest right in front of me.
It looked like something conjured up in a nightmare. It was naked and bloated, its skin white with bulging, pink cheeks. It looked to have a combination of human and pig features, and yet it ran upright like a person. Its irises were blood-red, its pupils huge and excited. Its beady eyes flicked over to Anna and a low, satisfied growl erupted from its wide throat. I watched the muscles work furiously in its porcine body as it sprinted towards her.
Before either Dmitri or I could react, the pig-thing grabbed Anna around the neck, its sharp, black fingers digging deeply into her skin. She squealed like a strangled rabbit as it dragged her away into the dark Ukrainian forests. Its pink lips pulled back in an excited grimace, revealing the sharp fangs underneath. I heard its guttural growls fade away rapidly. It sprinted much faster than a person, its hooves slamming the ground over and over at a superhuman speed.
“Hey!” Dmitri called excitedly, taking a step forward. “What do you…” A giant bear paw with too many gleaming claws smacked his leg out from under him, sending him flying. I only stood there, shell-shocked and amazed, as Anna disappeared into the trees.
A single moment later, the bear rose to its full height, roaring at us. Streams of spit flew from its mouth as its rancid breath washed over us, breath that emanated a smell like roadkill and infection. I put my hands up, flinching, expecting a blow that never came. When I looked up, the bear had gone back on all fours. It ran in the path the pig-creature had gone, its white, boneless extra limb hanging limply from its chest.
“What the fuck!” Dmitri cried on the ground, rocking back and forth. I came back to life, running over to his side. I saw deep gouge marks sliced through his blue jeans. Bright streams of blood lazily dripped from the claw marks on his left leg.
“We need to get help,” I cried, shaking him. His eyes looked faraway and confused, as if he didn’t fully realize what was happening. “We need to go back and get the police.”
“The police?” he asked, laughing. “The police here won’t do anything. You think they’re going to travel out into the radioactivity zone just for a missing person?” He shook his head grimly before reaching out a hand to me. “Help me up. There’s a first aid kit in the car. We need to bandage this up. Then we’re going after Anna.”
***
We had no way to call for help. The phones this far out in Chernobyl didn’t work, and there were never any cell phone towers built in the silent land. After Dmitri had disinfected and bandaged his legs, he rummaged through the trunk, looking for weapons.
“God damn, there’s nothing good here,” he said despondently. “Some bear mace, some knives… what good is any of that going to do against these mutated monsters? We need an AK-47.” I nodded in agreement.
“Too bad we’re not in the US,” I said. “The only guns you’re going to get around here are the ones you take off the bodies of Russian soldiers.”
“Yeah, if only,” he muttered sadly, handing me a large folding knife. “We have one canister of bear mace, three knives and a tire iron. Not exactly an arsenal.” I really didn’t want to go into those dark woods, but thinking of Anna being tortured or murdered made me feel sick and weak. I shook my head, mentally torn.
“Here, take the bear mace, too. I’ll take the tire iron and a knife,” he continued, forcing the black canister into my numb fingers. “You ready for this?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “I think we should try to find help. If we both go out there and get slaughtered, no one will ever find Anna.”
“The nearest town is two hours west of here,” he responded icily. “By the time we get help, her trail will have gone cold. It will take at least five or six hours to get any rescue out here. No, we need to do this, and we need to do it now. If you don’t want to come…”
“I’ll come,” I said grimly, my heart pounding. “Fuck it.”
***
Dmitri had a sad history. As a child living in Ukraine, he had been kidnapped by an insane neighbor and kept in a dirt pit outside for weeks, wallowing in his own piss and shit, slowly starving. He said the man would throw down a stale crust of bread or a rice cake into the mud and human waste every few days. Dmitri would pull the food out, wipe off the feces and eat it. I shuddered, remembering the horror stories he had told me. I knew he had a personal reason for making sure Anna was not subjected to the same endless suffering, even if it meant his own death.
The bear and the pig-creature had left a clear trail of broken brush and snapped twigs snaking through the forest. Side by side, we moved cautiously ahead, constantly checking our backs. But we saw no signs of movement and heard nothing. Up ahead, the trees abruptly opened up, letting golden sunlight stream down. Blinking quickly, we left the forest behind.
We walked out into a field in the middle of a valley surrounded by tall, dark hills. Grass and weeds rippled in waves as the wind swept past us.
Formed in a semi-circle in front of us, human skeletons lay endlessly dreaming. They stared up into the vast blue sky with grinning skulls and empty sockets. Some still had putrefying strips of flesh and ligaments clinging to the bones. Animals had scattered some of the bodies, but others lay complete, like corpses in a tomb. Human skulls, leg bones and arm bones lay scattered haphazardly across the field, their surfaces yellowed and cracked with age. It looked like a bone orchard.
“What are we looking at right now?” I whispered, furtively glancing around at the field of bones. An insane part of my mind wondered if they might rise from the dead and come after us. Compared to what we had already seen in this place of nightmares, it didn’t seem that far-fetched.
“Dead bodies,” Dmitri said grimly.
“Victims of the nuclear accident?” I asked. He shook his head, pointing at some of the fresher corpses nearby. Their throats looked like they had been ripped out, the bones of their necks showing deep bite marks. The one nearest us had its skeletal fingers wrapped around a glass bottle with a piece of paper rolled inside and a cork inserted into the top.
I knelt down, prying the fingers back with soft, cracking noises. I uncorked it and took out the paper. It felt thick in my hands, like some kind of hand-crafted paper from the old days. The cursive flowing across the sheet looked like it had been written in a quill pen with actual ink. In confusion, I read the letter aloud:
“Rules to survive in the Helskin Nature Preserve:
“1. The cult known as the Golden Butchers has been kidnapping women to breed them with the pig-creatures. They worship the offspring that result from these unions as gods. If a member of your group gets taken, you will find them in the living farm at the end of the forest.
“2. If you encounter Mr. Welcome, the enormous pig god with the eyes on his forehead, you must not let him touch you.
“3. The red snakes can only see while you’re moving. If you encounter them, stay still. Don’t even breathe.”
“Breeding women with pig-creatures?!” Dmitri cried, horror washing over his face. “We need to find her! But where do we even start?” I looked through the field, trying to see any sign of tracks, but it looked like hundreds of animals had gone through this field recently. Paths of tall, crushed grass crisscrossed the enormous length of it, some of them worn down to black dirt and stones. I just shook my head, having no idea.
A distant scream rolled its way down the surrounding hills. It came from our left and sounded very much like Anna. Dmitri’s eyes turned cold. Without looking back at me, he started frantically running towards the sound. It faded away within seconds.
“Wait up!” I cried, sprinting as fast as I could. His freshly-shaved head gleamed as he disappeared into the trees. Gripping the open buck knife in my hand, my knuckles white with tension and fear, I followed after him.
***
We wandered for hours through the woods, never hearing a second scream to guide our path. We both hoped that we were going in the right direction. A small deer trail winding through the brush opened up, heading up rocky hills and clear streams of water.
Sweating and nervous, we traveled for miles and miles, rarely talking. A few times, I tried to get Dmitri to slow down.
“How do you know you’re going in the right direction?” I asked. “We’ve been walking this trail for five hours and haven’t seen a thing.”
“This was the direction the scream came from,” he said weakly. “Where else would they go? They would want to travel quickly with a hostage. They would take a trail.” I didn’t point out that there may be other trails, that we had absolutely no idea where we were going.
As we reached the peak of a mountain, I pulled a small, portable Geiger counter we had taken along for the trip. The radioactivity here was high, much higher than normal background radiation. I didn’t know how far we were from the nuclear power plant at the center of all this, but at a certain point, it would become too dangerous to keep moving forward.
Dmitri was next to me, chugging a bottle of water when a shriek rang out below us. It sounded almost animalistic but had a strange, electronic distortion. Amplified to an ear-splitting cacophony, it echoed through the trees. Much quieter roars answered from the forests all around us in response, the cries of bears and other predators. These sounded much closer, however.
“Pssst,” a pile of thick ferns said to my left, shaking suddenly. In Ukrainian, the ferns continued by whispering, “Hey, you!” I jumped, swinging the knife in the direction of the brush, watching the blade shake wildly in my hand as fresh waves of adrenaline surged through my body. Dmitri was by my side, his eyes wide and wild. He glanced over at me, nodding. He had the tire iron raised like a tennis racket, ready to strike. A moment later, a little boy crawled out.
He was scarecrow thin, his face smudged with dirt and filth, his dark eyes sunken and lifeless deep inside his small head. He had black hair and a nose like a little twisted lump in the center of his face. It seemed like it had been repeatedly broken. He didn’t look older than ten, but he looked so emaciated that it was impossible to say. The rags and tatters he wore barely covered his body, and the boy was almost in his Genesis suit.
“Come out,” I said grimly. Dmitri’s eyes bulged from his head.
“Don’t kill me, please,” the boy whispered in a cracked, choked voice, his accent giving all his words a guttural tone. “Take me out of here. My Mom and Dad brought me here, they were part of the Golden Butchers, but a couple months ago, they got sick and died from all the poison in the water and food.”
“Who are you, kid?” Dmitri said, reaching down and pulling him up to his feet. I watched the boy closely, the bear mace in one hand and the knife in the other, looking for any sign of sudden violence or betrayal.
“My name is Pilip. I come from the farm,” he said, pointing vaguely towards the tallest peak in the area. “You can’t see it from here, but it’s over there.” Dmitri kneeled down until he was eye-to-eye with Pilip.
“Can you take us there?” he said. Pilip’s eyes teared up, but he slowly nodded.
“If you will take me with you when you leave, I’ll show you,” he said, crying now, “but it is a horrible place. It is the place of Mr. Welcome.”
***
Pilip guided us to the living farm, saving us a great deal of time. He navigated the forest like an experienced hiker, seeming to know the entire area from the smallest clues: a split, fallen tree, or a tree with a whorl like an eye, or a sudden curve in a babbling brook. It saved us a great deal of time wandering through the woods, where everything looked exactly the same to me.
“There,” he said, pointing through a break in the trees to the farm. The entire top of the hill was cleared of trees and brush. In its place stood a nightmare.
The farm was the closest place to Hell I have ever seen. The top of the living building peeked over the tall trees surrounding it. It had something like a bell tower on the top of it, almost like a church might have. But instead of a bell, it had an enormous, blood-shot eye.
The eye had an iris as red as a dismembered heart. Its pupil was dilated and insane. From here, the eye looked to be about the size of a church bell and had no eyelids. Strange white filaments like those of a slime mold surrounded it, trailing down into the building. I wondered if this was the optic nerve for the great, staring eye.
The rest of the building was as black as eternity, windowless and imposing. It had a brutalist architecture, all sharp angles and steep slopes. I watched the building and the eye closely. To my horror, I realized that the entire thing was alive somehow. The eye constantly spun in its place, staring out over the surrounding hills like the Eye of Sauron. The building constantly breathed.
“Welcome!” a hushed, distorted voice cried. The words seemed to come from the breathing and living walls of the farm itself. “Welcome! Wellllll-come…”
“What the fuck is this, kid?” Dmitri whispered hoarsely. “Where’s Anna?” Pilip shook his head sadly.
“She’s inside with the other breeders,” he said, the fear and terror evident on his face. “They keep them chained in cages or bound in the basement until the time for the ritual comes.”
“And when is that?” I asked. He looked up at the sky and the fading light. We had somehow wasted nearly an entire day already. Night was coming, and we hadn’t even seen Anna yet.
“At sunset,” he responded. Dmitri nearly jumped up at that.
“Sunset?! That’s almost here! We need to go now!” he cried. I almost wanted to laugh.
“What are you going to do, stab that enormous building with your knife?” I whispered. “We need a plan. Maybe we can burn it down or…” But my words were cut off by the roaring of the building. Its scream echoed over the hills. It was immediately answered by countless others, including one that came only a few dozen feet behind us. I grabbed Dmitri’s shoulder, my panicked eyes flicking in that direction.
“There’s something…” I started to say when the brush cracked under a heavy weight. Looking up, I saw something horrible stalking us from behind.
It looked like a pig, walking on all fours with a fat, bloated body, but it was the size of an SUV. Its eyes were like the eye in the building, blood-red and dilated. All over its body, hundreds of sharp teeth grew out of its skin, covering the pink flesh like tumors. The creature almost looked like a porcupine with all the sharp points of fangs projecting from its body.
For a moment, its eyes widened as we stared at each other. They instantly narrowed as the pig roared again and gave chase. It gnashed its teeth, opening and closing its mouth in a frenzy of bloodlust. In its mouth, too, the teeth grew wild. Hundreds of razor-sharp teeth of different sizes grew from its gums, tongue and lips.
“Run!” I cried, grabbing Pilip’s arm and hauling him off the ground. The boy had a natural survivor’s instincts and immediately started running by my side, away from the approaching creature.
We broke out into the massive clearing where the living farm stood. I saw that the building had only a single door in and out, a black barn door that stood wide open. I heard Dmitri’s feet pounding the ground behind me. The heavy thuds of the approaching creature drew louder by the second.
“In the barn!” I cried, not having time to think. It was the only possible place of safety here. I sprinted faster than I ever had before towards those doors as if they were entrance to paradise itself. Without slowing, I ran into the building, trying to slam one of the doors shut behind me. Dmitri grabbed the other. With the creature only seconds away, they started swinging shut. Pilip’s small body pressed against my leg as he came forward, using his meager strength to help me.
The door was extremely heavy and hard to move. The building itself looked like it was six or seven stories tall, and the doors to the barn nearly a-third of that height. With a tortured creak, they slammed shut. A single breath later, something heavy thudded against the other size, as if it had been hit by a battering ram. But the door held. Quickly, Dmitri and I grabbed a large board leaning against the wall and stuffed it into the brackets on both sides of the door, locking it from the inside.
I noticed how cool and dark it was in here, as if I had walked into a cave. I turned, taking in the interior of the living farm for the first time. At that moment, I had to repress a scream welling up in my throat.
***
Hundreds of imprisoned women both lined both sides of the barn. They were stacked one on top of another like prison cells. Wearing filthy, blood-stained rags, most of them looked silently down on us with dead, haunted eyes. I noticed the majority were in their twenties or thirties, but their eyes looked centuries old.
Along the back wall, an enormous pig lined the wall, positioned like Jesus on the cross. It stood as tall as the barn itself. Extra eyes covered its face, a dozen of them positioned all over its cheeks and forehead. From the top of its head, I saw white filaments rising up into the bell tower. Its many blood-red eyes focused on us, as still as death.
“Welcome,” it hissed. “Welcome!” Its limbs were chained to the wall. Enormous rusted links intertwined around its body, preventing Mr. Welcome from moving.
“Anna?!” Dmitri cried, looking around frantically. There was no one else here that I could see except for Mr. Welcome and all the hostages. “Anna, where are you?!”
“Don’t scream,” Pilip said in a tiny, fear-choked voice. “Please, don’t scream…”
But it was too late. As Dmitri’s last words faded, trapdoors built into the black floor of the barn sprung open. Dozens of mutated bears and pig-creatures crept out, their predatory eyes scanning us with hunger and anger.
***
“Fuck!” Dmitri cried, running back to the door at my side. Frantically, the three of us pulled the board up and dropped it to the fleshy floor with a clatter. As hisses and growls erupted all around us and the predators creeped forwards towards us in a semi-circle, the barn door flew open.
It was night now, the darkness creeping in like a descending curtain. No pig creatures awaited us on the other side, but something worse seemed to be creeping out of the forest.
I saw snakes the color of clotted blood slithering ahead. Each one was the size of a tractor-trailer, yet they made very little noise. An occasional hiss would rip its way through the air, but they hunted silently.
As I stood in the field in front of the barn, a no-man’s land of hellish proportions, the certainty of death fell over my heart like grasping skeletal hands. I looked down at the little boy sadly. He gave me a faint smile, even though his eyes were terrified.
“I think we’re fucked,” Dmitri whispered by my side. I only nodded.
***
But at that moment, I remembered the rules, and an idea came to me.
“Just stay still,” I said. “Don’t even breathe.” Pilip and Dmitri looked at me strangely, then recognition came over their eyes. Dmitri only nodded, and then we all played statue.
The predators from the barn were only thirty feet behind us by now, crouched down and hunting us like a cat with a mouse. Yet the snakes also closed in, their black, slitted eyes gleaming with a reptilian coldness. As the mutated bears and pig creatures leaned down to pounce, I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
I felt a sudden rush of air all around me. The snakes flitted forward in a blur, their massive jaws unhinging. Two fangs swiveled out like switchblades, fangs big enough to impale a police car. Drops of clear venom fell lazily from the ends.
Keeping my eyes closed, afraid to even breathe or blink, I listened as the sounds of tearing flesh and screaming animals resonated all around me. After about thirty seconds of this, everything went deathly silent.
***
I don’t know how long we stood there like statues, but eventually, someone touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes, unbelieving. Dmitri stared at me intently.
“They’re all gone,” he whispered. “All except Mr. Welcome. It’s now or never.” I nodded, and together, we moved into the farm.
The trapdoors still lay open. I could hear very faint sobbing coming from under the building. Dmitri was afraid to make a sound. Together, the three of us went down to investigate.
We found a dark basement covered in hay. Torture tools covered the walls: iron maidens, brazen bulls, crosses and an entire universe of whips, saws, grinders, pliers, razor-wire and other blood-stained tools of the trade. In the corner, we saw Anna, her hands tied to the wall. More rope bound her feet and legs. We ran forward. When Anna saw Dmitri, she collapsed into a nervous wreck.
“Oh my God, you came! Please, get me out of here, right now,” she whispered. “They’re coming. The ritual will start soon.” Without a word, we started cutting the ropes, freeing her quickly.
“We need to be as quiet as possible,” I told Anna. “We can all get out of here. Let’s go.”
***
As we ascended from the basement back to the main floor of the living farm, the repetitive, metallic voice of Mr. Welcome kept repeating the same insane mantra.
“Welcome,” it said. “Welcome!” Once the four of us were all together, however, it changed.
“Welcome, thieves,” it hissed, its voice deepening and turning into a demonic gurgle. “That is my breeder. You will have to find out what happens to thieves.” I could only imagine all those blood-stained tools in the basement, and I shuddered.
Mr. Welcome inhaled deeply, his massive, fleshy body ballooning. With a predatory roar, he ripped the chains out of the wall of the living building. Orange pus and dark, clotted blood dripped from the holes. The barn breathed faster and deeper, the broken walls vibrating and shimmering as new life and pain flowed into them.
Mr. Welcome started moving towards us like a grinding juggernaut, walking on two legs like some sort of pig god. His many lidless eyes never looked away from us. The frayed optic nerves leading to the bell tower broke with a sound like snapping rubber bands. Dmitri looked at me with great sadness in his eyes.
“Get away,” he whispered. “I’ll distract it. Just get Anna home, no matter what.” Before I could respond, he ran forwards towards the abomination, the small, useless knife raised in one hand.
Mr. Welcome saw him coming. He tried to swipe at Dmitri with a sharp, black hoove, but Dmitri ducked, running around the back of him. He gave a battle-cry and started stabbing the monster in the back of the leg, which probably hurt it about as much as a toothpick.
But it provided a distraction. This time, Mr. Welcome spun his whole body, falling back to all four legs to deal with this nuisance. He used his massive snout to smack Dmitri hard, sending him flying across the barn. He hit the wall with a bone-shattering thud.
Dmitri’s skin immediately started to blacken, as if he were being burned alive. His eyes melted out of his face as he screamed, clawing at the dying patches of necrotic tissue spreading across his body. Within a few seconds, his screams faded to agonized groans. He tried to crawl back towards us as he died.
“Run!” I screamed, grabbing Anna’s hand and forcing her to sprint by my side. Pilip was already one step ahead of us, frantically trying to reach the shelter of the forest. I heard the ground shake behind me as Mr. Welcome drew near, moving much faster than we could ever hope to go. I knew we would never make it.
“Keep going, no matter what!” I yelled at Pilip and Anna. They kept running, the animal instinct to survive now foremost in their minds. I had to suppress mine. I turned to face the creature, the evil pig god known as Mr. Welcome.
***
In hindsight, I don’t know if God or some divine power had interceded, but the bear mace was probably one of the few items that could have saved us at that moment. Mr. Welcome had many eyes, and now that he was running on all four paws, his face was within reach. As my heart palpitated wildly, I raised the bear mace and sprayed at his dozen eyes. He didn’t slow, and I had to jump to the side to keep from being trampled. The air whooshed past me as if a subway car had gone by.
But a moment later, Mr. Welcome gave a roar- and not one of anger and hunger. This was a roar of pain and uncertainty. Blinded, Mr. Welcome frantically started running in circles, knocking down huge swathes of trees. The ear-splitting racket as he pulled the forest apart crashed over the surrounding landscape. Without a moment of hesitation, I turned to follow Pilip and Anna back to the car.
We told the police about the barn and all the hostages, but they claimed they couldn’t find it, and we never heard anything more about it.
***
Looking back on the experience, I now know why Chernobyl is a restricted zone, and it isn’t just because of the radioactivity. There are some things that hide under the surface, after all- things that grow in the dark, rotted places where no eyes roam.
submitted by CIAHerpes to CreepsMcPasta [link] [comments]
There were three of us heading into the dark Eastern European forests: my friend Dmitri, who was originally from the country and knew the language, his girlfriend Anna and myself. Everything seemed mundane enough as we flew into the country and handed over our passports. There was no sign of the horrors waiting ahead.
The first towns we encountered looked idyllic enough as we drove through them in a rental car. Isolated farmhouses with cows and chickens dotted the landscape. Plentiful fields of wheat, potatoes and corn stretched out on all sides of us. The black earth here was fertile, I knew. As we headed deeper into the radiation zone, however, the houses and farms all started to look abandoned and dilapidated, the fields barren and dead.
“Christ on a cracker,” I muttered, more to myself than to my friends, “this place looks like it suffered through the Apocalypse.”
“It did,” Dmitri said grimly. “A nuclear apocalypse. I feel like the Biblical one is far more optimistic than the true apocalypse will be. In reality, there will be no Rapture, no victory of light over darkness. If there is ever a World War 3, every major city will be consumed by nuclear fire. It will throw buses and cars thousands of feet into the air, spilling out bodies onto the burning skies. Entire streets will collapse, trapping countless millions under the rubble.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” Anna commented, her dark blue eyes staring out the window. I saw the reflection of white eyes skittering through the brush outside, small animals that disappeared in front of the approaching roar of the engine.
“How far is it?” I asked, feeling carsick and anxious. The winding roads here curved through countless hills. It reminded me of driving through parts of Northern California before, when I had retched out the window. Anna and Dmitri seemed unaffected, though. I cursed my stomach, which was always turning traitorous towards me.
“It’s a while, man,” Dmitri said. “This country is huge. Probably another three or four hour drive. And then we have to start walking.”
“Good thing we left before dawn,” Anna said, stifling a yawn. She had a can of some cheap Russian Red Bull knock-off, some fluorescent green crap that smelled like chemicals. But she drank it as if it were the finest French wine. I gazed out at the dark forests that passed us on both sides, wondering what kind of sights lay ahead in this land of the damned.
***
The Sun rose early over the gently rolling hills and black earth of Ukraine, sending its rusty streaks of blood across the sky. The going had been easy so far, except for the constant car sickness I felt. I took a few pills of meclizine, wishing that I could have smuggled some weed gummies through customs. But here, cannabis was illegal, and I was not eager to see the inside of an Eastern European prison, where lunatics like the Three Guys One Hammer maniacs and the Chessboard Killer lived in hellish conditions.
“Holy shit, would you look at that?” Dmitri said with awe and wonder oozing from his voice as the car braked abruptly. I looked up quickly, my stomach doing flips. But what I saw laying across the road instantly brought me back to the moment. Dmitri pointed a tattooed hand at the sight.
“Is that real?” Anna asked. I could only shake my head as we all stared at the dead bear that was laying across the cracked road, its dead eyes staring straight through us.
I noticed immediately that the bear had extra paws on its arms. Blood-stained claws jutted sharply out of its four paws, each seeming to have seven fingers. Its feet looked stunted and twisted, like the roots of a tree. An extra arm stuck out of the front of its chest, a pale, white fleshy growth emerging from its sternum. The mutated limb looked malformed and boneless, causing a sense of revulsion to rise up as I gazed on it. It flopped gently in the heavy wind that swirled down the surrounding hills.
“Well, I guess the rumors are true,” Dmitri said slowly, his eyes as wide and excited as a child. “Can you imagine what other kinds of things must be lurking in these forests? This is going to make a really awesome documentary.” Anna nodded, playing with a small, hand-held digital camera she took everywhere with her. She wanted to make a video that would finally go viral on the internet and help her gain some recognition for her work.
“I’m going to record everything, including this,” she said excitedly, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear as she opened the door of the car. Dawn had risen overhead, radiating the first warm rays of a bright summer day. After a long moment, I followed her out. Dmitri stood at her side, his dark eyes wide. He ran a trembling hand over his shaved head as he looked down at the enormous bear.
Anna zoomed in with the camera, kneeling down before the still beast. Her finely-formed fingers shook with excitement as she drew within inches of the corpse. I wondered how the bear had died, as I didn’t see any signs of injuries on the creature’s body. The next moment, I saw it blink.
I backpedaled away, giving a hoarse, guttural shout of warning. Anna was busy staring at the screen of the digital camera, scanning it across the bear’s extra fingers and limbs. But the panic that swept over Dmitri’s face showed me that he, too, had seen it. He grabbed Anna’s arm, dragging her back with sudden fury. She stumbled, her legs crossing under her. She crashed into him and they fell back together. A moment later, the bear came to life, its bones cracking as it twisted its head to look at the three of us.
It swiped a mutated paw at the place where Anna’s face had been only a moment before. I heard the sharp claws slice through the air like switchblades. The bear’s head ratcheted over to glare at us. It gnashed its teeth as silver streams of saliva flew from its shaking head. With a primal roar, it leapt off the ground. I turned to run back to the safety of the car, but I nearly tripped when a pale figure streaked out of the forest right in front of me.
It looked like something conjured up in a nightmare. It was naked and bloated, its skin white with bulging, pink cheeks. It looked to have a combination of human and pig features, and yet it ran upright like a person. Its irises were blood-red, its pupils huge and excited. Its beady eyes flicked over to Anna and a low, satisfied growl erupted from its wide throat. I watched the muscles work furiously in its porcine body as it sprinted towards her.
Before either Dmitri or I could react, the pig-thing grabbed Anna around the neck, its sharp, black fingers digging deeply into her skin. She squealed like a strangled rabbit as it dragged her away into the dark Ukrainian forests. Its pink lips pulled back in an excited grimace, revealing the sharp fangs underneath. I heard its guttural growls fade away rapidly. It sprinted much faster than a person, its hooves slamming the ground over and over at a superhuman speed.
“Hey!” Dmitri called excitedly, taking a step forward. “What do you…” A giant bear paw with too many gleaming claws smacked his leg out from under him, sending him flying. I only stood there, shell-shocked and amazed, as Anna disappeared into the trees.
A single moment later, the bear rose to its full height, roaring at us. Streams of spit flew from its mouth as its rancid breath washed over us, breath that emanated a smell like roadkill and infection. I put my hands up, flinching, expecting a blow that never came. When I looked up, the bear had gone back on all fours. It ran in the path the pig-creature had gone, its white, boneless extra limb hanging limply from its chest.
“What the fuck!” Dmitri cried on the ground, rocking back and forth. I came back to life, running over to his side. I saw deep gouge marks sliced through his blue jeans. Bright streams of blood lazily dripped from the claw marks on his left leg.
“We need to get help,” I cried, shaking him. His eyes looked faraway and confused, as if he didn’t fully realize what was happening. “We need to go back and get the police.”
“The police?” he asked, laughing. “The police here won’t do anything. You think they’re going to travel out into the radioactivity zone just for a missing person?” He shook his head grimly before reaching out a hand to me. “Help me up. There’s a first aid kit in the car. We need to bandage this up. Then we’re going after Anna.”
***
We had no way to call for help. The phones this far out in Chernobyl didn’t work, and there were never any cell phone towers built in the silent land. After Dmitri had disinfected and bandaged his legs, he rummaged through the trunk, looking for weapons.
“God damn, there’s nothing good here,” he said despondently. “Some bear mace, some knives… what good is any of that going to do against these mutated monsters? We need an AK-47.” I nodded in agreement.
“Too bad we’re not in the US,” I said. “The only guns you’re going to get around here are the ones you take off the bodies of Russian soldiers.”
“Yeah, if only,” he muttered sadly, handing me a large folding knife. “We have one canister of bear mace, three knives and a tire iron. Not exactly an arsenal.” I really didn’t want to go into those dark woods, but thinking of Anna being tortured or murdered made me feel sick and weak. I shook my head, mentally torn.
“Here, take the bear mace, too. I’ll take the tire iron and a knife,” he continued, forcing the black canister into my numb fingers. “You ready for this?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “I think we should try to find help. If we both go out there and get slaughtered, no one will ever find Anna.”
“The nearest town is two hours west of here,” he responded icily. “By the time we get help, her trail will have gone cold. It will take at least five or six hours to get any rescue out here. No, we need to do this, and we need to do it now. If you don’t want to come…”
“I’ll come,” I said grimly, my heart pounding. “Fuck it.”
***
Dmitri had a sad history. As a child living in Ukraine, he had been kidnapped by an insane neighbor and kept in a dirt pit outside for weeks, wallowing in his own piss and shit, slowly starving. He said the man would throw down a stale crust of bread or a rice cake into the mud and human waste every few days. Dmitri would pull the food out, wipe off the feces and eat it. I shuddered, remembering the horror stories he had told me. I knew he had a personal reason for making sure Anna was not subjected to the same endless suffering, even if it meant his own death.
The bear and the pig-creature had left a clear trail of broken brush and snapped twigs snaking through the forest. Side by side, we moved cautiously ahead, constantly checking our backs. But we saw no signs of movement and heard nothing. Up ahead, the trees abruptly opened up, letting golden sunlight stream down. Blinking quickly, we left the forest behind.
We walked out into a field in the middle of a valley surrounded by tall, dark hills. Grass and weeds rippled in waves as the wind swept past us.
Formed in a semi-circle in front of us, human skeletons lay endlessly dreaming. They stared up into the vast blue sky with grinning skulls and empty sockets. Some still had putrefying strips of flesh and ligaments clinging to the bones. Animals had scattered some of the bodies, but others lay complete, like corpses in a tomb. Human skulls, leg bones and arm bones lay scattered haphazardly across the field, their surfaces yellowed and cracked with age. It looked like a bone orchard.
“What are we looking at right now?” I whispered, furtively glancing around at the field of bones. An insane part of my mind wondered if they might rise from the dead and come after us. Compared to what we had already seen in this place of nightmares, it didn’t seem that far-fetched.
“Dead bodies,” Dmitri said grimly.
“Victims of the nuclear accident?” I asked. He shook his head, pointing at some of the fresher corpses nearby. Their throats looked like they had been ripped out, the bones of their necks showing deep bite marks. The one nearest us had its skeletal fingers wrapped around a glass bottle with a piece of paper rolled inside and a cork inserted into the top.
I knelt down, prying the fingers back with soft, cracking noises. I uncorked it and took out the paper. It felt thick in my hands, like some kind of hand-crafted paper from the old days. The cursive flowing across the sheet looked like it had been written in a quill pen with actual ink. In confusion, I read the letter aloud:
“Rules to survive in the Helskin Nature Preserve:
“1. The cult known as the Golden Butchers has been kidnapping women to breed them with the pig-creatures. They worship the offspring that result from these unions as gods. If a member of your group gets taken, you will find them in the living farm at the end of the forest.
“2. If you encounter Mr. Welcome, the enormous pig god with the eyes on his forehead, you must not let him touch you.
“3. The red snakes can only see while you’re moving. If you encounter them, stay still. Don’t even breathe.”
“Breeding women with pig-creatures?!” Dmitri cried, horror washing over his face. “We need to find her! But where do we even start?” I looked through the field, trying to see any sign of tracks, but it looked like hundreds of animals had gone through this field recently. Paths of tall, crushed grass crisscrossed the enormous length of it, some of them worn down to black dirt and stones. I just shook my head, having no idea.
A distant scream rolled its way down the surrounding hills. It came from our left and sounded very much like Anna. Dmitri’s eyes turned cold. Without looking back at me, he started frantically running towards the sound. It faded away within seconds.
“Wait up!” I cried, sprinting as fast as I could. His freshly-shaved head gleamed as he disappeared into the trees. Gripping the open buck knife in my hand, my knuckles white with tension and fear, I followed after him.
***
We wandered for hours through the woods, never hearing a second scream to guide our path. We both hoped that we were going in the right direction. A small deer trail winding through the brush opened up, heading up rocky hills and clear streams of water.
Sweating and nervous, we traveled for miles and miles, rarely talking. A few times, I tried to get Dmitri to slow down.
“How do you know you’re going in the right direction?” I asked. “We’ve been walking this trail for five hours and haven’t seen a thing.”
“This was the direction the scream came from,” he said weakly. “Where else would they go? They would want to travel quickly with a hostage. They would take a trail.” I didn’t point out that there may be other trails, that we had absolutely no idea where we were going.
As we reached the peak of a mountain, I pulled a small, portable Geiger counter we had taken along for the trip. The radioactivity here was high, much higher than normal background radiation. I didn’t know how far we were from the nuclear power plant at the center of all this, but at a certain point, it would become too dangerous to keep moving forward.
Dmitri was next to me, chugging a bottle of water when a shriek rang out below us. It sounded almost animalistic but had a strange, electronic distortion. Amplified to an ear-splitting cacophony, it echoed through the trees. Much quieter roars answered from the forests all around us in response, the cries of bears and other predators. These sounded much closer, however.
“Pssst,” a pile of thick ferns said to my left, shaking suddenly. In Ukrainian, the ferns continued by whispering, “Hey, you!” I jumped, swinging the knife in the direction of the brush, watching the blade shake wildly in my hand as fresh waves of adrenaline surged through my body. Dmitri was by my side, his eyes wide and wild. He glanced over at me, nodding. He had the tire iron raised like a tennis racket, ready to strike. A moment later, a little boy crawled out.
He was scarecrow thin, his face smudged with dirt and filth, his dark eyes sunken and lifeless deep inside his small head. He had black hair and a nose like a little twisted lump in the center of his face. It seemed like it had been repeatedly broken. He didn’t look older than ten, but he looked so emaciated that it was impossible to say. The rags and tatters he wore barely covered his body, and the boy was almost in his Genesis suit.
“Come out,” I said grimly. Dmitri’s eyes bulged from his head.
“Don’t kill me, please,” the boy whispered in a cracked, choked voice, his accent giving all his words a guttural tone. “Take me out of here. My Mom and Dad brought me here, they were part of the Golden Butchers, but a couple months ago, they got sick and died from all the poison in the water and food.”
“Who are you, kid?” Dmitri said, reaching down and pulling him up to his feet. I watched the boy closely, the bear mace in one hand and the knife in the other, looking for any sign of sudden violence or betrayal.
“My name is Pilip. I come from the farm,” he said, pointing vaguely towards the tallest peak in the area. “You can’t see it from here, but it’s over there.” Dmitri kneeled down until he was eye-to-eye with Pilip.
“Can you take us there?” he said. Pilip’s eyes teared up, but he slowly nodded.
“If you will take me with you when you leave, I’ll show you,” he said, crying now, “but it is a horrible place. It is the place of Mr. Welcome.”
***
Pilip guided us to the living farm, saving us a great deal of time. He navigated the forest like an experienced hiker, seeming to know the entire area from the smallest clues: a split, fallen tree, or a tree with a whorl like an eye, or a sudden curve in a babbling brook. It saved us a great deal of time wandering through the woods, where everything looked exactly the same to me.
“There,” he said, pointing through a break in the trees to the farm. The entire top of the hill was cleared of trees and brush. In its place stood a nightmare.
The farm was the closest place to Hell I have ever seen. The top of the living building peeked over the tall trees surrounding it. It had something like a bell tower on the top of it, almost like a church might have. But instead of a bell, it had an enormous, blood-shot eye.
The eye had an iris as red as a dismembered heart. Its pupil was dilated and insane. From here, the eye looked to be about the size of a church bell and had no eyelids. Strange white filaments like those of a slime mold surrounded it, trailing down into the building. I wondered if this was the optic nerve for the great, staring eye.
The rest of the building was as black as eternity, windowless and imposing. It had a brutalist architecture, all sharp angles and steep slopes. I watched the building and the eye closely. To my horror, I realized that the entire thing was alive somehow. The eye constantly spun in its place, staring out over the surrounding hills like the Eye of Sauron. The building constantly breathed.
“Welcome!” a hushed, distorted voice cried. The words seemed to come from the breathing and living walls of the farm itself. “Welcome! Wellllll-come…”
“What the fuck is this, kid?” Dmitri whispered hoarsely. “Where’s Anna?” Pilip shook his head sadly.
“She’s inside with the other breeders,” he said, the fear and terror evident on his face. “They keep them chained in cages or bound in the basement until the time for the ritual comes.”
“And when is that?” I asked. He looked up at the sky and the fading light. We had somehow wasted nearly an entire day already. Night was coming, and we hadn’t even seen Anna yet.
“At sunset,” he responded. Dmitri nearly jumped up at that.
“Sunset?! That’s almost here! We need to go now!” he cried. I almost wanted to laugh.
“What are you going to do, stab that enormous building with your knife?” I whispered. “We need a plan. Maybe we can burn it down or…” But my words were cut off by the roaring of the building. Its scream echoed over the hills. It was immediately answered by countless others, including one that came only a few dozen feet behind us. I grabbed Dmitri’s shoulder, my panicked eyes flicking in that direction.
“There’s something…” I started to say when the brush cracked under a heavy weight. Looking up, I saw something horrible stalking us from behind.
It looked like a pig, walking on all fours with a fat, bloated body, but it was the size of an SUV. Its eyes were like the eye in the building, blood-red and dilated. All over its body, hundreds of sharp teeth grew out of its skin, covering the pink flesh like tumors. The creature almost looked like a porcupine with all the sharp points of fangs projecting from its body.
For a moment, its eyes widened as we stared at each other. They instantly narrowed as the pig roared again and gave chase. It gnashed its teeth, opening and closing its mouth in a frenzy of bloodlust. In its mouth, too, the teeth grew wild. Hundreds of razor-sharp teeth of different sizes grew from its gums, tongue and lips.
“Run!” I cried, grabbing Pilip’s arm and hauling him off the ground. The boy had a natural survivor’s instincts and immediately started running by my side, away from the approaching creature.
We broke out into the massive clearing where the living farm stood. I saw that the building had only a single door in and out, a black barn door that stood wide open. I heard Dmitri’s feet pounding the ground behind me. The heavy thuds of the approaching creature drew louder by the second.
“In the barn!” I cried, not having time to think. It was the only possible place of safety here. I sprinted faster than I ever had before towards those doors as if they were entrance to paradise itself. Without slowing, I ran into the building, trying to slam one of the doors shut behind me. Dmitri grabbed the other. With the creature only seconds away, they started swinging shut. Pilip’s small body pressed against my leg as he came forward, using his meager strength to help me.
The door was extremely heavy and hard to move. The building itself looked like it was six or seven stories tall, and the doors to the barn nearly a-third of that height. With a tortured creak, they slammed shut. A single breath later, something heavy thudded against the other size, as if it had been hit by a battering ram. But the door held. Quickly, Dmitri and I grabbed a large board leaning against the wall and stuffed it into the brackets on both sides of the door, locking it from the inside.
I noticed how cool and dark it was in here, as if I had walked into a cave. I turned, taking in the interior of the living farm for the first time. At that moment, I had to repress a scream welling up in my throat.
***
Hundreds of imprisoned women both lined both sides of the barn. They were stacked one on top of another like prison cells. Wearing filthy, blood-stained rags, most of them looked silently down on us with dead, haunted eyes. I noticed the majority were in their twenties or thirties, but their eyes looked centuries old.
Along the back wall, an enormous pig lined the wall, positioned like Jesus on the cross. It stood as tall as the barn itself. Extra eyes covered its face, a dozen of them positioned all over its cheeks and forehead. From the top of its head, I saw white filaments rising up into the bell tower. Its many blood-red eyes focused on us, as still as death.
“Welcome,” it hissed. “Welcome!” Its limbs were chained to the wall. Enormous rusted links intertwined around its body, preventing Mr. Welcome from moving.
“Anna?!” Dmitri cried, looking around frantically. There was no one else here that I could see except for Mr. Welcome and all the hostages. “Anna, where are you?!”
“Don’t scream,” Pilip said in a tiny, fear-choked voice. “Please, don’t scream…”
But it was too late. As Dmitri’s last words faded, trapdoors built into the black floor of the barn sprung open. Dozens of mutated bears and pig-creatures crept out, their predatory eyes scanning us with hunger and anger.
***
“Fuck!” Dmitri cried, running back to the door at my side. Frantically, the three of us pulled the board up and dropped it to the fleshy floor with a clatter. As hisses and growls erupted all around us and the predators creeped forwards towards us in a semi-circle, the barn door flew open.
It was night now, the darkness creeping in like a descending curtain. No pig creatures awaited us on the other side, but something worse seemed to be creeping out of the forest.
I saw snakes the color of clotted blood slithering ahead. Each one was the size of a tractor-trailer, yet they made very little noise. An occasional hiss would rip its way through the air, but they hunted silently.
As I stood in the field in front of the barn, a no-man’s land of hellish proportions, the certainty of death fell over my heart like grasping skeletal hands. I looked down at the little boy sadly. He gave me a faint smile, even though his eyes were terrified.
“I think we’re fucked,” Dmitri whispered by my side. I only nodded.
***
But at that moment, I remembered the rules, and an idea came to me.
“Just stay still,” I said. “Don’t even breathe.” Pilip and Dmitri looked at me strangely, then recognition came over their eyes. Dmitri only nodded, and then we all played statue.
The predators from the barn were only thirty feet behind us by now, crouched down and hunting us like a cat with a mouse. Yet the snakes also closed in, their black, slitted eyes gleaming with a reptilian coldness. As the mutated bears and pig creatures leaned down to pounce, I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
I felt a sudden rush of air all around me. The snakes flitted forward in a blur, their massive jaws unhinging. Two fangs swiveled out like switchblades, fangs big enough to impale a police car. Drops of clear venom fell lazily from the ends.
Keeping my eyes closed, afraid to even breathe or blink, I listened as the sounds of tearing flesh and screaming animals resonated all around me. After about thirty seconds of this, everything went deathly silent.
***
I don’t know how long we stood there like statues, but eventually, someone touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes, unbelieving. Dmitri stared at me intently.
“They’re all gone,” he whispered. “All except Mr. Welcome. It’s now or never.” I nodded, and together, we moved into the farm.
The trapdoors still lay open. I could hear very faint sobbing coming from under the building. Dmitri was afraid to make a sound. Together, the three of us went down to investigate.
We found a dark basement covered in hay. Torture tools covered the walls: iron maidens, brazen bulls, crosses and an entire universe of whips, saws, grinders, pliers, razor-wire and other blood-stained tools of the trade. In the corner, we saw Anna, her hands tied to the wall. More rope bound her feet and legs. We ran forward. When Anna saw Dmitri, she collapsed into a nervous wreck.
“Oh my God, you came! Please, get me out of here, right now,” she whispered. “They’re coming. The ritual will start soon.” Without a word, we started cutting the ropes, freeing her quickly.
“We need to be as quiet as possible,” I told Anna. “We can all get out of here. Let’s go.”
***
As we ascended from the basement back to the main floor of the living farm, the repetitive, metallic voice of Mr. Welcome kept repeating the same insane mantra.
“Welcome,” it said. “Welcome!” Once the four of us were all together, however, it changed.
“Welcome, thieves,” it hissed, its voice deepening and turning into a demonic gurgle. “That is my breeder. You will have to find out what happens to thieves.” I could only imagine all those blood-stained tools in the basement, and I shuddered.
Mr. Welcome inhaled deeply, his massive, fleshy body ballooning. With a predatory roar, he ripped the chains out of the wall of the living building. Orange pus and dark, clotted blood dripped from the holes. The barn breathed faster and deeper, the broken walls vibrating and shimmering as new life and pain flowed into them.
Mr. Welcome started moving towards us like a grinding juggernaut, walking on two legs like some sort of pig god. His many lidless eyes never looked away from us. The frayed optic nerves leading to the bell tower broke with a sound like snapping rubber bands. Dmitri looked at me with great sadness in his eyes.
“Get away,” he whispered. “I’ll distract it. Just get Anna home, no matter what.” Before I could respond, he ran forwards towards the abomination, the small, useless knife raised in one hand.
Mr. Welcome saw him coming. He tried to swipe at Dmitri with a sharp, black hoove, but Dmitri ducked, running around the back of him. He gave a battle-cry and started stabbing the monster in the back of the leg, which probably hurt it about as much as a toothpick.
But it provided a distraction. This time, Mr. Welcome spun his whole body, falling back to all four legs to deal with this nuisance. He used his massive snout to smack Dmitri hard, sending him flying across the barn. He hit the wall with a bone-shattering thud.
Dmitri’s skin immediately started to blacken, as if he were being burned alive. His eyes melted out of his face as he screamed, clawing at the dying patches of necrotic tissue spreading across his body. Within a few seconds, his screams faded to agonized groans. He tried to crawl back towards us as he died.
“Run!” I screamed, grabbing Anna’s hand and forcing her to sprint by my side. Pilip was already one step ahead of us, frantically trying to reach the shelter of the forest. I heard the ground shake behind me as Mr. Welcome drew near, moving much faster than we could ever hope to go. I knew we would never make it.
“Keep going, no matter what!” I yelled at Pilip and Anna. They kept running, the animal instinct to survive now foremost in their minds. I had to suppress mine. I turned to face the creature, the evil pig god known as Mr. Welcome.
***
In hindsight, I don’t know if God or some divine power had interceded, but the bear mace was probably one of the few items that could have saved us at that moment. Mr. Welcome had many eyes, and now that he was running on all four paws, his face was within reach. As my heart palpitated wildly, I raised the bear mace and sprayed at his dozen eyes. He didn’t slow, and I had to jump to the side to keep from being trampled. The air whooshed past me as if a subway car had gone by.
But a moment later, Mr. Welcome gave a roar- and not one of anger and hunger. This was a roar of pain and uncertainty. Blinded, Mr. Welcome frantically started running in circles, knocking down huge swathes of trees. The ear-splitting racket as he pulled the forest apart crashed over the surrounding landscape. Without a moment of hesitation, I turned to follow Pilip and Anna back to the car.
We told the police about the barn and all the hostages, but they claimed they couldn’t find it, and we never heard anything more about it.
***
Looking back on the experience, I now know why Chernobyl is a restricted zone, and it isn’t just because of the radioactivity. There are some things that hide under the surface, after all- things that grow in the dark, rotted places where no eyes roam.
2024.05.27 18:43 CIAHerpes I spent the night in a forest in Chernobyl with mutated animals. I found a mummified corpse holding a list of rules.
The area where we were heading in Eastern Europe was known for its radioactivity. We had received reports of strange animals, things that looked like they were hatched from a mad scientist’s laboratory. I didn’t know how much of it I believed, because some of the descriptions the survivors gave sounded more like wendigo and dogmen than any real animal. I figured that, in the heat of the moment and under attack, their minds had likely twisted the true form of the animals, horrifying as they were, into something truly nightmarish.
There were three of us heading into the dark Eastern European forests: my friend Dmitri, who was originally from the country and knew the language, his girlfriend Anna and myself. Everything seemed mundane enough as we flew into the country and handed over our passports. There was no sign of the horrors waiting ahead.
The first towns we encountered looked idyllic enough as we drove through them in a rental car. Isolated farmhouses with cows and chickens dotted the landscape. Plentiful fields of wheat, potatoes and corn stretched out on all sides of us. The black earth here was fertile, I knew. As we headed deeper into the radiation zone, however, the houses and farms all started to look abandoned and dilapidated, the fields barren and dead.
“Christ on a cracker,” I muttered, more to myself than to my friends, “this place looks like it suffered through the Apocalypse.”
“It did,” Dmitri said grimly. “A nuclear apocalypse. I feel like the Biblical one is far more optimistic than the true apocalypse will be. In reality, there will be no Rapture, no victory of light over darkness. If there is ever a World War 3, every major city will be consumed by nuclear fire. It will throw buses and cars thousands of feet into the air, spilling out bodies onto the burning skies. Entire streets will collapse, trapping countless millions under the rubble.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” Anna commented, her dark blue eyes staring out the window. I saw the reflection of white eyes skittering through the brush outside, small animals that disappeared in front of the approaching roar of the engine.
“How far is it?” I asked, feeling carsick and anxious. The winding roads here curved through countless hills. It reminded me of driving through parts of Northern California before, when I had retched out the window. Anna and Dmitri seemed unaffected, though. I cursed my stomach, which was always turning traitorous towards me.
“It’s a while, man,” Dmitri said. “This country is huge. Probably another three or four hour drive. And then we have to start walking.”
“Good thing we left before dawn,” Anna said, stifling a yawn. She had a can of some cheap Russian Red Bull knock-off, some fluorescent green crap that smelled like chemicals. But she drank it as if it were the finest French wine. I gazed out at the dark forests that passed us on both sides, wondering what kind of sights lay ahead in this land of the damned.
***
The Sun rose early over the gently rolling hills and black earth of Ukraine, sending its rusty streaks of blood across the sky. The going had been easy so far, except for the constant car sickness I felt. I took a few pills of meclizine, wishing that I could have smuggled some weed gummies through customs. But here, cannabis was illegal, and I was not eager to see the inside of an Eastern European prison, where lunatics like the Three Guys One Hammer maniacs and the Chessboard Killer lived in hellish conditions.
“Holy shit, would you look at that?” Dmitri said with awe and wonder oozing from his voice as the car braked abruptly. I looked up quickly, my stomach doing flips. But what I saw laying across the road instantly brought me back to the moment. Dmitri pointed a tattooed hand at the sight.
“Is that real?” Anna asked. I could only shake my head as we all stared at the dead bear that was laying across the cracked road, its dead eyes staring straight through us.
I noticed immediately that the bear had extra paws on its arms. Blood-stained claws jutted sharply out of its four paws, each seeming to have seven fingers. Its feet looked stunted and twisted, like the roots of a tree. An extra arm stuck out of the front of its chest, a pale, white fleshy growth emerging from its sternum. The mutated limb looked malformed and boneless, causing a sense of revulsion to rise up as I gazed on it. It flopped gently in the heavy wind that swirled down the surrounding hills.
“Well, I guess the rumors are true,” Dmitri said slowly, his eyes as wide and excited as a child. “Can you imagine what other kinds of things must be lurking in these forests? This is going to make a really awesome documentary.” Anna nodded, playing with a small, hand-held digital camera she took everywhere with her. She wanted to make a video that would finally go viral on the internet and help her gain some recognition for her work.
“I’m going to record everything, including this,” she said excitedly, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear as she opened the door of the car. Dawn had risen overhead, radiating the first warm rays of a bright summer day. After a long moment, I followed her out. Dmitri stood at her side, his dark eyes wide. He ran a trembling hand over his shaved head as he looked down at the enormous bear.
Anna zoomed in with the camera, kneeling down before the still beast. Her finely-formed fingers shook with excitement as she drew within inches of the corpse. I wondered how the bear had died, as I didn’t see any signs of injuries on the creature’s body. The next moment, I saw it blink.
I backpedaled away, giving a hoarse, guttural shout of warning. Anna was busy staring at the screen of the digital camera, scanning it across the bear’s extra fingers and limbs. But the panic that swept over Dmitri’s face showed me that he, too, had seen it. He grabbed Anna’s arm, dragging her back with sudden fury. She stumbled, her legs crossing under her. She crashed into him and they fell back together. A moment later, the bear came to life, its bones cracking as it twisted its head to look at the three of us.
It swiped a mutated paw at the place where Anna’s face had been only a moment before. I heard the sharp claws slice through the air like switchblades. The bear’s head ratcheted over to glare at us. It gnashed its teeth as silver streams of saliva flew from its shaking head. With a primal roar, it leapt off the ground. I turned to run back to the safety of the car, but I nearly tripped when a pale figure streaked out of the forest right in front of me.
It looked like something conjured up in a nightmare. It was naked and bloated, its skin white with bulging, pink cheeks. It looked to have a combination of human and pig features, and yet it ran upright like a person. Its irises were blood-red, its pupils huge and excited. Its beady eyes flicked over to Anna and a low, satisfied growl erupted from its wide throat. I watched the muscles work furiously in its porcine body as it sprinted towards her.
Before either Dmitri or I could react, the pig-thing grabbed Anna around the neck, its sharp, black fingers digging deeply into her skin. She squealed like a strangled rabbit as it dragged her away into the dark Ukrainian forests. Its pink lips pulled back in an excited grimace, revealing the sharp fangs underneath. I heard its guttural growls fade away rapidly. It sprinted much faster than a person, its hooves slamming the ground over and over at a superhuman speed.
“Hey!” Dmitri called excitedly, taking a step forward. “What do you…” A giant bear paw with too many gleaming claws smacked his leg out from under him, sending him flying. I only stood there, shell-shocked and amazed, as Anna disappeared into the trees.
A single moment later, the bear rose to its full height, roaring at us. Streams of spit flew from its mouth as its rancid breath washed over us, breath that emanated a smell like roadkill and infection. I put my hands up, flinching, expecting a blow that never came. When I looked up, the bear had gone back on all fours. It ran in the path the pig-creature had gone, its white, boneless extra limb hanging limply from its chest.
“What the fuck!” Dmitri cried on the ground, rocking back and forth. I came back to life, running over to his side. I saw deep gouge marks sliced through his blue jeans. Bright streams of blood lazily dripped from the claw marks on his left leg.
“We need to get help,” I cried, shaking him. His eyes looked faraway and confused, as if he didn’t fully realize what was happening. “We need to go back and get the police.”
“The police?” he asked, laughing. “The police here won’t do anything. You think they’re going to travel out into the radioactivity zone just for a missing person?” He shook his head grimly before reaching out a hand to me. “Help me up. There’s a first aid kit in the car. We need to bandage this up. Then we’re going after Anna.”
***
We had no way to call for help. The phones this far out in Chernobyl didn’t work, and there were never any cell phone towers built in the silent land. After Dmitri had disinfected and bandaged his legs, he rummaged through the trunk, looking for weapons.
“God damn, there’s nothing good here,” he said despondently. “Some bear mace, some knives… what good is any of that going to do against these mutated monsters? We need an AK-47.” I nodded in agreement.
“Too bad we’re not in the US,” I said. “The only guns you’re going to get around here are the ones you take off the bodies of Russian soldiers.”
“Yeah, if only,” he muttered sadly, handing me a large folding knife. “We have one canister of bear mace, three knives and a tire iron. Not exactly an arsenal.” I really didn’t want to go into those dark woods, but thinking of Anna being tortured or murdered made me feel sick and weak. I shook my head, mentally torn.
“Here, take the bear mace, too. I’ll take the tire iron and a knife,” he continued, forcing the black canister into my numb fingers. “You ready for this?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “I think we should try to find help. If we both go out there and get slaughtered, no one will ever find Anna.”
“The nearest town is two hours west of here,” he responded icily. “By the time we get help, her trail will have gone cold. It will take at least five or six hours to get any rescue out here. No, we need to do this, and we need to do it now. If you don’t want to come…”
“I’ll come,” I said grimly, my heart pounding. “Fuck it.”
***
Dmitri had a sad history. As a child living in Ukraine, he had been kidnapped by an insane neighbor and kept in a dirt pit outside for weeks, wallowing in his own piss and shit, slowly starving. He said the man would throw down a stale crust of bread or a rice cake into the mud and human waste every few days. Dmitri would pull the food out, wipe off the feces and eat it. I shuddered, remembering the horror stories he had told me. I knew he had a personal reason for making sure Anna was not subjected to the same endless suffering, even if it meant his own death.
The bear and the pig-creature had left a clear trail of broken brush and snapped twigs snaking through the forest. Side by side, we moved cautiously ahead, constantly checking our backs. But we saw no signs of movement and heard nothing. Up ahead, the trees abruptly opened up, letting golden sunlight stream down. Blinking quickly, we left the forest behind.
We walked out into a field in the middle of a valley surrounded by tall, dark hills. Grass and weeds rippled in waves as the wind swept past us.
Formed in a semi-circle in front of us, human skeletons lay endlessly dreaming. They stared up into the vast blue sky with grinning skulls and empty sockets. Some still had putrefying strips of flesh and ligaments clinging to the bones. Animals had scattered some of the bodies, but others lay complete, like corpses in a tomb. Human skulls, leg bones and arm bones lay scattered haphazardly across the field, their surfaces yellowed and cracked with age. It looked like a bone orchard.
“What are we looking at right now?” I whispered, furtively glancing around at the field of bones. An insane part of my mind wondered if they might rise from the dead and come after us. Compared to what we had already seen in this place of nightmares, it didn’t seem that far-fetched.
“Dead bodies,” Dmitri said grimly.
“Victims of the nuclear accident?” I asked. He shook his head, pointing at some of the fresher corpses nearby. Their throats looked like they had been ripped out, the bones of their necks showing deep bite marks. The one nearest us had its skeletal fingers wrapped around a glass bottle with a piece of paper rolled inside and a cork inserted into the top.
I knelt down, prying the fingers back with soft, cracking noises. I uncorked it and took out the paper. It felt thick in my hands, like some kind of hand-crafted paper from the old days. The cursive flowing across the sheet looked like it had been written in a quill pen with actual ink. In confusion, I read the letter aloud:
“Rules to survive in the Helskin Nature Preserve:
“1. The cult known as the Golden Butchers has been kidnapping women to breed them with the pig-creatures. They worship the offspring that result from these unions as gods. If a member of your group gets taken, you will find them in the living farm at the end of the forest.
“2. If you encounter Mr. Welcome, the enormous pig god with the eyes on his forehead, you must not let him touch you.
“3. The red snakes can only see while you’re moving. If you encounter them, stay still. Don’t even breathe.”
“Breeding women with pig-creatures?!” Dmitri cried, horror washing over his face. “We need to find her! But where do we even start?” I looked through the field, trying to see any sign of tracks, but it looked like hundreds of animals had gone through this field recently. Paths of tall, crushed grass crisscrossed the enormous length of it, some of them worn down to black dirt and stones. I just shook my head, having no idea.
A distant scream rolled its way down the surrounding hills. It came from our left and sounded very much like Anna. Dmitri’s eyes turned cold. Without looking back at me, he started frantically running towards the sound. It faded away within seconds.
“Wait up!” I cried, sprinting as fast as I could. His freshly-shaved head gleamed as he disappeared into the trees. Gripping the open buck knife in my hand, my knuckles white with tension and fear, I followed after him.
***
We wandered for hours through the woods, never hearing a second scream to guide our path. We both hoped that we were going in the right direction. A small deer trail winding through the brush opened up, heading up rocky hills and clear streams of water.
Sweating and nervous, we traveled for miles and miles, rarely talking. A few times, I tried to get Dmitri to slow down.
“How do you know you’re going in the right direction?” I asked. “We’ve been walking this trail for five hours and haven’t seen a thing.”
“This was the direction the scream came from,” he said weakly. “Where else would they go? They would want to travel quickly with a hostage. They would take a trail.” I didn’t point out that there may be other trails, that we had absolutely no idea where we were going.
As we reached the peak of a mountain, I pulled a small, portable Geiger counter we had taken along for the trip. The radioactivity here was high, much higher than normal background radiation. I didn’t know how far we were from the nuclear power plant at the center of all this, but at a certain point, it would become too dangerous to keep moving forward.
Dmitri was next to me, chugging a bottle of water when a shriek rang out below us. It sounded almost animalistic but had a strange, electronic distortion. Amplified to an ear-splitting cacophony, it echoed through the trees. Much quieter roars answered from the forests all around us in response, the cries of bears and other predators. These sounded much closer, however.
“Pssst,” a pile of thick ferns said to my left, shaking suddenly. In Ukrainian, the ferns continued by whispering, “Hey, you!” I jumped, swinging the knife in the direction of the brush, watching the blade shake wildly in my hand as fresh waves of adrenaline surged through my body. Dmitri was by my side, his eyes wide and wild. He glanced over at me, nodding. He had the tire iron raised like a tennis racket, ready to strike. A moment later, a little boy crawled out.
He was scarecrow thin, his face smudged with dirt and filth, his dark eyes sunken and lifeless deep inside his small head. He had black hair and a nose like a little twisted lump in the center of his face. It seemed like it had been repeatedly broken. He didn’t look older than ten, but he looked so emaciated that it was impossible to say. The rags and tatters he wore barely covered his body, and the boy was almost in his Genesis suit.
“Come out,” I said grimly. Dmitri’s eyes bulged from his head.
“Don’t kill me, please,” the boy whispered in a cracked, choked voice, his accent giving all his words a guttural tone. “Take me out of here. My Mom and Dad brought me here, they were part of the Golden Butchers, but a couple months ago, they got sick and died from all the poison in the water and food.”
“Who are you, kid?” Dmitri said, reaching down and pulling him up to his feet. I watched the boy closely, the bear mace in one hand and the knife in the other, looking for any sign of sudden violence or betrayal.
“My name is Pilip. I come from the farm,” he said, pointing vaguely towards the tallest peak in the area. “You can’t see it from here, but it’s over there.” Dmitri kneeled down until he was eye-to-eye with Pilip.
“Can you take us there?” he said. Pilip’s eyes teared up, but he slowly nodded.
“If you will take me with you when you leave, I’ll show you,” he said, crying now, “but it is a horrible place. It is the place of Mr. Welcome.”
***
Pilip guided us to the living farm, saving us a great deal of time. He navigated the forest like an experienced hiker, seeming to know the entire area from the smallest clues: a split, fallen tree, or a tree with a whorl like an eye, or a sudden curve in a babbling brook. It saved us a great deal of time wandering through the woods, where everything looked exactly the same to me.
“There,” he said, pointing through a break in the trees to the farm. The entire top of the hill was cleared of trees and brush. In its place stood a nightmare.
The farm was the closest place to Hell I have ever seen. The top of the living building peeked over the tall trees surrounding it. It had something like a bell tower on the top of it, almost like a church might have. But instead of a bell, it had an enormous, blood-shot eye.
The eye had an iris as red as a dismembered heart. Its pupil was dilated and insane. From here, the eye looked to be about the size of a church bell and had no eyelids. Strange white filaments like those of a slime mold surrounded it, trailing down into the building. I wondered if this was the optic nerve for the great, staring eye.
The rest of the building was as black as eternity, windowless and imposing. It had a brutalist architecture, all sharp angles and steep slopes. I watched the building and the eye closely. To my horror, I realized that the entire thing was alive somehow. The eye constantly spun in its place, staring out over the surrounding hills like the Eye of Sauron. The building constantly breathed.
“Welcome!” a hushed, distorted voice cried. The words seemed to come from the breathing and living walls of the farm itself. “Welcome! Wellllll-come…”
“What the fuck is this, kid?” Dmitri whispered hoarsely. “Where’s Anna?” Pilip shook his head sadly.
“She’s inside with the other breeders,” he said, the fear and terror evident on his face. “They keep them chained in cages or bound in the basement until the time for the ritual comes.”
“And when is that?” I asked. He looked up at the sky and the fading light. We had somehow wasted nearly an entire day already. Night was coming, and we hadn’t even seen Anna yet.
“At sunset,” he responded. Dmitri nearly jumped up at that.
“Sunset?! That’s almost here! We need to go now!” he cried. I almost wanted to laugh.
“What are you going to do, stab that enormous building with your knife?” I whispered. “We need a plan. Maybe we can burn it down or…” But my words were cut off by the roaring of the building. Its scream echoed over the hills. It was immediately answered by countless others, including one that came only a few dozen feet behind us. I grabbed Dmitri’s shoulder, my panicked eyes flicking in that direction.
“There’s something…” I started to say when the brush cracked under a heavy weight. Looking up, I saw something horrible stalking us from behind.
It looked like a pig, walking on all fours with a fat, bloated body, but it was the size of an SUV. Its eyes were like the eye in the building, blood-red and dilated. All over its body, hundreds of sharp teeth grew out of its skin, covering the pink flesh like tumors. The creature almost looked like a porcupine with all the sharp points of fangs projecting from its body.
For a moment, its eyes widened as we stared at each other. They instantly narrowed as the pig roared again and gave chase. It gnashed its teeth, opening and closing its mouth in a frenzy of bloodlust. In its mouth, too, the teeth grew wild. Hundreds of razor-sharp teeth of different sizes grew from its gums, tongue and lips.
“Run!” I cried, grabbing Pilip’s arm and hauling him off the ground. The boy had a natural survivor’s instincts and immediately started running by my side, away from the approaching creature.
We broke out into the massive clearing where the living farm stood. I saw that the building had only a single door in and out, a black barn door that stood wide open. I heard Dmitri’s feet pounding the ground behind me. The heavy thuds of the approaching creature drew louder by the second.
“In the barn!” I cried, not having time to think. It was the only possible place of safety here. I sprinted faster than I ever had before towards those doors as if they were entrance to paradise itself. Without slowing, I ran into the building, trying to slam one of the doors shut behind me. Dmitri grabbed the other. With the creature only seconds away, they started swinging shut. Pilip’s small body pressed against my leg as he came forward, using his meager strength to help me.
The door was extremely heavy and hard to move. The building itself looked like it was six or seven stories tall, and the doors to the barn nearly a-third of that height. With a tortured creak, they slammed shut. A single breath later, something heavy thudded against the other size, as if it had been hit by a battering ram. But the door held. Quickly, Dmitri and I grabbed a large board leaning against the wall and stuffed it into the brackets on both sides of the door, locking it from the inside.
I noticed how cool and dark it was in here, as if I had walked into a cave. I turned, taking in the interior of the living farm for the first time. At that moment, I had to repress a scream welling up in my throat.
***
Hundreds of imprisoned women both lined both sides of the barn. They were stacked one on top of another like prison cells. Wearing filthy, blood-stained rags, most of them looked silently down on us with dead, haunted eyes. I noticed the majority were in their twenties or thirties, but their eyes looked centuries old.
Along the back wall, an enormous pig lined the wall, positioned like Jesus on the cross. It stood as tall as the barn itself. Extra eyes covered its face, a dozen of them positioned all over its cheeks and forehead. From the top of its head, I saw white filaments rising up into the bell tower. Its many blood-red eyes focused on us, as still as death.
“Welcome,” it hissed. “Welcome!” Its limbs were chained to the wall. Enormous rusted links intertwined around its body, preventing Mr. Welcome from moving.
“Anna?!” Dmitri cried, looking around frantically. There was no one else here that I could see except for Mr. Welcome and all the hostages. “Anna, where are you?!”
“Don’t scream,” Pilip said in a tiny, fear-choked voice. “Please, don’t scream…”
But it was too late. As Dmitri’s last words faded, trapdoors built into the black floor of the barn sprung open. Dozens of mutated bears and pig-creatures crept out, their predatory eyes scanning us with hunger and anger.
***
“Fuck!” Dmitri cried, running back to the door at my side. Frantically, the three of us pulled the board up and dropped it to the fleshy floor with a clatter. As hisses and growls erupted all around us and the predators creeped forwards towards us in a semi-circle, the barn door flew open.
It was night now, the darkness creeping in like a descending curtain. No pig creatures awaited us on the other side, but something worse seemed to be creeping out of the forest.
I saw snakes the color of clotted blood slithering ahead. Each one was the size of a tractor-trailer, yet they made very little noise. An occasional hiss would rip its way through the air, but they hunted silently.
As I stood in the field in front of the barn, a no-man’s land of hellish proportions, the certainty of death fell over my heart like grasping skeletal hands. I looked down at the little boy sadly. He gave me a faint smile, even though his eyes were terrified.
“I think we’re fucked,” Dmitri whispered by my side. I only nodded.
***
But at that moment, I remembered the rules, and an idea came to me.
“Just stay still,” I said. “Don’t even breathe.” Pilip and Dmitri looked at me strangely, then recognition came over their eyes. Dmitri only nodded, and then we all played statue.
The predators from the barn were only thirty feet behind us by now, crouched down and hunting us like a cat with a mouse. Yet the snakes also closed in, their black, slitted eyes gleaming with a reptilian coldness. As the mutated bears and pig creatures leaned down to pounce, I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
I felt a sudden rush of air all around me. The snakes flitted forward in a blur, their massive jaws unhinging. Two fangs swiveled out like switchblades, fangs big enough to impale a police car. Drops of clear venom fell lazily from the ends.
Keeping my eyes closed, afraid to even breathe or blink, I listened as the sounds of tearing flesh and screaming animals resonated all around me. After about thirty seconds of this, everything went deathly silent.
***
I don’t know how long we stood there like statues, but eventually, someone touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes, unbelieving. Dmitri stared at me intently.
“They’re all gone,” he whispered. “All except Mr. Welcome. It’s now or never.” I nodded, and together, we moved into the farm.
The trapdoors still lay open. I could hear very faint sobbing coming from under the building. Dmitri was afraid to make a sound. Together, the three of us went down to investigate.
We found a dark basement covered in hay. Torture tools covered the walls: iron maidens, brazen bulls, crosses and an entire universe of whips, saws, grinders, pliers, razor-wire and other blood-stained tools of the trade. In the corner, we saw Anna, her hands tied to the wall. More rope bound her feet and legs. We ran forward. When Anna saw Dmitri, she collapsed into a nervous wreck.
“Oh my God, you came! Please, get me out of here, right now,” she whispered. “They’re coming. The ritual will start soon.” Without a word, we started cutting the ropes, freeing her quickly.
“We need to be as quiet as possible,” I told Anna. “We can all get out of here. Let’s go.”
***
As we ascended from the basement back to the main floor of the living farm, the repetitive, metallic voice of Mr. Welcome kept repeating the same insane mantra.
“Welcome,” it said. “Welcome!” Once the four of us were all together, however, it changed.
“Welcome, thieves,” it hissed, its voice deepening and turning into a demonic gurgle. “That is my breeder. You will have to find out what happens to thieves.” I could only imagine all those blood-stained tools in the basement, and I shuddered.
Mr. Welcome inhaled deeply, his massive, fleshy body ballooning. With a predatory roar, he ripped the chains out of the wall of the living building. Orange pus and dark, clotted blood dripped from the holes. The barn breathed faster and deeper, the broken walls vibrating and shimmering as new life and pain flowed into them.
Mr. Welcome started moving towards us like a grinding juggernaut, walking on two legs like some sort of pig god. His many lidless eyes never looked away from us. The frayed optic nerves leading to the bell tower broke with a sound like snapping rubber bands. Dmitri looked at me with great sadness in his eyes.
“Get away,” he whispered. “I’ll distract it. Just get Anna home, no matter what.” Before I could respond, he ran forwards towards the abomination, the small, useless knife raised in one hand.
Mr. Welcome saw him coming. He tried to swipe at Dmitri with a sharp, black hoove, but Dmitri ducked, running around the back of him. He gave a battle-cry and started stabbing the monster in the back of the leg, which probably hurt it about as much as a toothpick.
But it provided a distraction. This time, Mr. Welcome spun his whole body, falling back to all four legs to deal with this nuisance. He used his massive snout to smack Dmitri hard, sending him flying across the barn. He hit the wall with a bone-shattering thud.
Dmitri’s skin immediately started to blacken, as if he were being burned alive. His eyes melted out of his face as he screamed, clawing at the dying patches of necrotic tissue spreading across his body. Within a few seconds, his screams faded to agonized groans. He tried to crawl back towards us as he died.
“Run!” I screamed, grabbing Anna’s hand and forcing her to sprint by my side. Pilip was already one step ahead of us, frantically trying to reach the shelter of the forest. I heard the ground shake behind me as Mr. Welcome drew near, moving much faster than we could ever hope to go. I knew we would never make it.
“Keep going, no matter what!” I yelled at Pilip and Anna. They kept running, the animal instinct to survive now foremost in their minds. I had to suppress mine. I turned to face the creature, the evil pig god known as Mr. Welcome.
***
In hindsight, I don’t know if God or some divine power had interceded, but the bear mace was probably one of the few items that could have saved us at that moment. Mr. Welcome had many eyes, and now that he was running on all four paws, his face was within reach. As my heart palpitated wildly, I raised the bear mace and sprayed at his dozen eyes. He didn’t slow, and I had to jump to the side to keep from being trampled. The air whooshed past me as if a subway car had gone by.
But a moment later, Mr. Welcome gave a roar- and not one of anger and hunger. This was a roar of pain and uncertainty. Blinded, Mr. Welcome frantically started running in circles, knocking down huge swathes of trees. The ear-splitting racket as he pulled the forest apart crashed over the surrounding landscape. Without a moment of hesitation, I turned to follow Pilip and Anna back to the car.
We told the police about the barn and all the hostages, but they claimed they couldn’t find it, and we never heard anything more about it.
***
Looking back on the experience, I now know why Chernobyl is a restricted zone, and it isn’t just because of the radioactivity. There are some things that hide under the surface, after all- things that grow in the dark, rotted places where no eyes roam.
submitted by CIAHerpes to Horror_stories [link] [comments]
There were three of us heading into the dark Eastern European forests: my friend Dmitri, who was originally from the country and knew the language, his girlfriend Anna and myself. Everything seemed mundane enough as we flew into the country and handed over our passports. There was no sign of the horrors waiting ahead.
The first towns we encountered looked idyllic enough as we drove through them in a rental car. Isolated farmhouses with cows and chickens dotted the landscape. Plentiful fields of wheat, potatoes and corn stretched out on all sides of us. The black earth here was fertile, I knew. As we headed deeper into the radiation zone, however, the houses and farms all started to look abandoned and dilapidated, the fields barren and dead.
“Christ on a cracker,” I muttered, more to myself than to my friends, “this place looks like it suffered through the Apocalypse.”
“It did,” Dmitri said grimly. “A nuclear apocalypse. I feel like the Biblical one is far more optimistic than the true apocalypse will be. In reality, there will be no Rapture, no victory of light over darkness. If there is ever a World War 3, every major city will be consumed by nuclear fire. It will throw buses and cars thousands of feet into the air, spilling out bodies onto the burning skies. Entire streets will collapse, trapping countless millions under the rubble.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” Anna commented, her dark blue eyes staring out the window. I saw the reflection of white eyes skittering through the brush outside, small animals that disappeared in front of the approaching roar of the engine.
“How far is it?” I asked, feeling carsick and anxious. The winding roads here curved through countless hills. It reminded me of driving through parts of Northern California before, when I had retched out the window. Anna and Dmitri seemed unaffected, though. I cursed my stomach, which was always turning traitorous towards me.
“It’s a while, man,” Dmitri said. “This country is huge. Probably another three or four hour drive. And then we have to start walking.”
“Good thing we left before dawn,” Anna said, stifling a yawn. She had a can of some cheap Russian Red Bull knock-off, some fluorescent green crap that smelled like chemicals. But she drank it as if it were the finest French wine. I gazed out at the dark forests that passed us on both sides, wondering what kind of sights lay ahead in this land of the damned.
***
The Sun rose early over the gently rolling hills and black earth of Ukraine, sending its rusty streaks of blood across the sky. The going had been easy so far, except for the constant car sickness I felt. I took a few pills of meclizine, wishing that I could have smuggled some weed gummies through customs. But here, cannabis was illegal, and I was not eager to see the inside of an Eastern European prison, where lunatics like the Three Guys One Hammer maniacs and the Chessboard Killer lived in hellish conditions.
“Holy shit, would you look at that?” Dmitri said with awe and wonder oozing from his voice as the car braked abruptly. I looked up quickly, my stomach doing flips. But what I saw laying across the road instantly brought me back to the moment. Dmitri pointed a tattooed hand at the sight.
“Is that real?” Anna asked. I could only shake my head as we all stared at the dead bear that was laying across the cracked road, its dead eyes staring straight through us.
I noticed immediately that the bear had extra paws on its arms. Blood-stained claws jutted sharply out of its four paws, each seeming to have seven fingers. Its feet looked stunted and twisted, like the roots of a tree. An extra arm stuck out of the front of its chest, a pale, white fleshy growth emerging from its sternum. The mutated limb looked malformed and boneless, causing a sense of revulsion to rise up as I gazed on it. It flopped gently in the heavy wind that swirled down the surrounding hills.
“Well, I guess the rumors are true,” Dmitri said slowly, his eyes as wide and excited as a child. “Can you imagine what other kinds of things must be lurking in these forests? This is going to make a really awesome documentary.” Anna nodded, playing with a small, hand-held digital camera she took everywhere with her. She wanted to make a video that would finally go viral on the internet and help her gain some recognition for her work.
“I’m going to record everything, including this,” she said excitedly, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear as she opened the door of the car. Dawn had risen overhead, radiating the first warm rays of a bright summer day. After a long moment, I followed her out. Dmitri stood at her side, his dark eyes wide. He ran a trembling hand over his shaved head as he looked down at the enormous bear.
Anna zoomed in with the camera, kneeling down before the still beast. Her finely-formed fingers shook with excitement as she drew within inches of the corpse. I wondered how the bear had died, as I didn’t see any signs of injuries on the creature’s body. The next moment, I saw it blink.
I backpedaled away, giving a hoarse, guttural shout of warning. Anna was busy staring at the screen of the digital camera, scanning it across the bear’s extra fingers and limbs. But the panic that swept over Dmitri’s face showed me that he, too, had seen it. He grabbed Anna’s arm, dragging her back with sudden fury. She stumbled, her legs crossing under her. She crashed into him and they fell back together. A moment later, the bear came to life, its bones cracking as it twisted its head to look at the three of us.
It swiped a mutated paw at the place where Anna’s face had been only a moment before. I heard the sharp claws slice through the air like switchblades. The bear’s head ratcheted over to glare at us. It gnashed its teeth as silver streams of saliva flew from its shaking head. With a primal roar, it leapt off the ground. I turned to run back to the safety of the car, but I nearly tripped when a pale figure streaked out of the forest right in front of me.
It looked like something conjured up in a nightmare. It was naked and bloated, its skin white with bulging, pink cheeks. It looked to have a combination of human and pig features, and yet it ran upright like a person. Its irises were blood-red, its pupils huge and excited. Its beady eyes flicked over to Anna and a low, satisfied growl erupted from its wide throat. I watched the muscles work furiously in its porcine body as it sprinted towards her.
Before either Dmitri or I could react, the pig-thing grabbed Anna around the neck, its sharp, black fingers digging deeply into her skin. She squealed like a strangled rabbit as it dragged her away into the dark Ukrainian forests. Its pink lips pulled back in an excited grimace, revealing the sharp fangs underneath. I heard its guttural growls fade away rapidly. It sprinted much faster than a person, its hooves slamming the ground over and over at a superhuman speed.
“Hey!” Dmitri called excitedly, taking a step forward. “What do you…” A giant bear paw with too many gleaming claws smacked his leg out from under him, sending him flying. I only stood there, shell-shocked and amazed, as Anna disappeared into the trees.
A single moment later, the bear rose to its full height, roaring at us. Streams of spit flew from its mouth as its rancid breath washed over us, breath that emanated a smell like roadkill and infection. I put my hands up, flinching, expecting a blow that never came. When I looked up, the bear had gone back on all fours. It ran in the path the pig-creature had gone, its white, boneless extra limb hanging limply from its chest.
“What the fuck!” Dmitri cried on the ground, rocking back and forth. I came back to life, running over to his side. I saw deep gouge marks sliced through his blue jeans. Bright streams of blood lazily dripped from the claw marks on his left leg.
“We need to get help,” I cried, shaking him. His eyes looked faraway and confused, as if he didn’t fully realize what was happening. “We need to go back and get the police.”
“The police?” he asked, laughing. “The police here won’t do anything. You think they’re going to travel out into the radioactivity zone just for a missing person?” He shook his head grimly before reaching out a hand to me. “Help me up. There’s a first aid kit in the car. We need to bandage this up. Then we’re going after Anna.”
***
We had no way to call for help. The phones this far out in Chernobyl didn’t work, and there were never any cell phone towers built in the silent land. After Dmitri had disinfected and bandaged his legs, he rummaged through the trunk, looking for weapons.
“God damn, there’s nothing good here,” he said despondently. “Some bear mace, some knives… what good is any of that going to do against these mutated monsters? We need an AK-47.” I nodded in agreement.
“Too bad we’re not in the US,” I said. “The only guns you’re going to get around here are the ones you take off the bodies of Russian soldiers.”
“Yeah, if only,” he muttered sadly, handing me a large folding knife. “We have one canister of bear mace, three knives and a tire iron. Not exactly an arsenal.” I really didn’t want to go into those dark woods, but thinking of Anna being tortured or murdered made me feel sick and weak. I shook my head, mentally torn.
“Here, take the bear mace, too. I’ll take the tire iron and a knife,” he continued, forcing the black canister into my numb fingers. “You ready for this?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “I think we should try to find help. If we both go out there and get slaughtered, no one will ever find Anna.”
“The nearest town is two hours west of here,” he responded icily. “By the time we get help, her trail will have gone cold. It will take at least five or six hours to get any rescue out here. No, we need to do this, and we need to do it now. If you don’t want to come…”
“I’ll come,” I said grimly, my heart pounding. “Fuck it.”
***
Dmitri had a sad history. As a child living in Ukraine, he had been kidnapped by an insane neighbor and kept in a dirt pit outside for weeks, wallowing in his own piss and shit, slowly starving. He said the man would throw down a stale crust of bread or a rice cake into the mud and human waste every few days. Dmitri would pull the food out, wipe off the feces and eat it. I shuddered, remembering the horror stories he had told me. I knew he had a personal reason for making sure Anna was not subjected to the same endless suffering, even if it meant his own death.
The bear and the pig-creature had left a clear trail of broken brush and snapped twigs snaking through the forest. Side by side, we moved cautiously ahead, constantly checking our backs. But we saw no signs of movement and heard nothing. Up ahead, the trees abruptly opened up, letting golden sunlight stream down. Blinking quickly, we left the forest behind.
We walked out into a field in the middle of a valley surrounded by tall, dark hills. Grass and weeds rippled in waves as the wind swept past us.
Formed in a semi-circle in front of us, human skeletons lay endlessly dreaming. They stared up into the vast blue sky with grinning skulls and empty sockets. Some still had putrefying strips of flesh and ligaments clinging to the bones. Animals had scattered some of the bodies, but others lay complete, like corpses in a tomb. Human skulls, leg bones and arm bones lay scattered haphazardly across the field, their surfaces yellowed and cracked with age. It looked like a bone orchard.
“What are we looking at right now?” I whispered, furtively glancing around at the field of bones. An insane part of my mind wondered if they might rise from the dead and come after us. Compared to what we had already seen in this place of nightmares, it didn’t seem that far-fetched.
“Dead bodies,” Dmitri said grimly.
“Victims of the nuclear accident?” I asked. He shook his head, pointing at some of the fresher corpses nearby. Their throats looked like they had been ripped out, the bones of their necks showing deep bite marks. The one nearest us had its skeletal fingers wrapped around a glass bottle with a piece of paper rolled inside and a cork inserted into the top.
I knelt down, prying the fingers back with soft, cracking noises. I uncorked it and took out the paper. It felt thick in my hands, like some kind of hand-crafted paper from the old days. The cursive flowing across the sheet looked like it had been written in a quill pen with actual ink. In confusion, I read the letter aloud:
“Rules to survive in the Helskin Nature Preserve:
“1. The cult known as the Golden Butchers has been kidnapping women to breed them with the pig-creatures. They worship the offspring that result from these unions as gods. If a member of your group gets taken, you will find them in the living farm at the end of the forest.
“2. If you encounter Mr. Welcome, the enormous pig god with the eyes on his forehead, you must not let him touch you.
“3. The red snakes can only see while you’re moving. If you encounter them, stay still. Don’t even breathe.”
“Breeding women with pig-creatures?!” Dmitri cried, horror washing over his face. “We need to find her! But where do we even start?” I looked through the field, trying to see any sign of tracks, but it looked like hundreds of animals had gone through this field recently. Paths of tall, crushed grass crisscrossed the enormous length of it, some of them worn down to black dirt and stones. I just shook my head, having no idea.
A distant scream rolled its way down the surrounding hills. It came from our left and sounded very much like Anna. Dmitri’s eyes turned cold. Without looking back at me, he started frantically running towards the sound. It faded away within seconds.
“Wait up!” I cried, sprinting as fast as I could. His freshly-shaved head gleamed as he disappeared into the trees. Gripping the open buck knife in my hand, my knuckles white with tension and fear, I followed after him.
***
We wandered for hours through the woods, never hearing a second scream to guide our path. We both hoped that we were going in the right direction. A small deer trail winding through the brush opened up, heading up rocky hills and clear streams of water.
Sweating and nervous, we traveled for miles and miles, rarely talking. A few times, I tried to get Dmitri to slow down.
“How do you know you’re going in the right direction?” I asked. “We’ve been walking this trail for five hours and haven’t seen a thing.”
“This was the direction the scream came from,” he said weakly. “Where else would they go? They would want to travel quickly with a hostage. They would take a trail.” I didn’t point out that there may be other trails, that we had absolutely no idea where we were going.
As we reached the peak of a mountain, I pulled a small, portable Geiger counter we had taken along for the trip. The radioactivity here was high, much higher than normal background radiation. I didn’t know how far we were from the nuclear power plant at the center of all this, but at a certain point, it would become too dangerous to keep moving forward.
Dmitri was next to me, chugging a bottle of water when a shriek rang out below us. It sounded almost animalistic but had a strange, electronic distortion. Amplified to an ear-splitting cacophony, it echoed through the trees. Much quieter roars answered from the forests all around us in response, the cries of bears and other predators. These sounded much closer, however.
“Pssst,” a pile of thick ferns said to my left, shaking suddenly. In Ukrainian, the ferns continued by whispering, “Hey, you!” I jumped, swinging the knife in the direction of the brush, watching the blade shake wildly in my hand as fresh waves of adrenaline surged through my body. Dmitri was by my side, his eyes wide and wild. He glanced over at me, nodding. He had the tire iron raised like a tennis racket, ready to strike. A moment later, a little boy crawled out.
He was scarecrow thin, his face smudged with dirt and filth, his dark eyes sunken and lifeless deep inside his small head. He had black hair and a nose like a little twisted lump in the center of his face. It seemed like it had been repeatedly broken. He didn’t look older than ten, but he looked so emaciated that it was impossible to say. The rags and tatters he wore barely covered his body, and the boy was almost in his Genesis suit.
“Come out,” I said grimly. Dmitri’s eyes bulged from his head.
“Don’t kill me, please,” the boy whispered in a cracked, choked voice, his accent giving all his words a guttural tone. “Take me out of here. My Mom and Dad brought me here, they were part of the Golden Butchers, but a couple months ago, they got sick and died from all the poison in the water and food.”
“Who are you, kid?” Dmitri said, reaching down and pulling him up to his feet. I watched the boy closely, the bear mace in one hand and the knife in the other, looking for any sign of sudden violence or betrayal.
“My name is Pilip. I come from the farm,” he said, pointing vaguely towards the tallest peak in the area. “You can’t see it from here, but it’s over there.” Dmitri kneeled down until he was eye-to-eye with Pilip.
“Can you take us there?” he said. Pilip’s eyes teared up, but he slowly nodded.
“If you will take me with you when you leave, I’ll show you,” he said, crying now, “but it is a horrible place. It is the place of Mr. Welcome.”
***
Pilip guided us to the living farm, saving us a great deal of time. He navigated the forest like an experienced hiker, seeming to know the entire area from the smallest clues: a split, fallen tree, or a tree with a whorl like an eye, or a sudden curve in a babbling brook. It saved us a great deal of time wandering through the woods, where everything looked exactly the same to me.
“There,” he said, pointing through a break in the trees to the farm. The entire top of the hill was cleared of trees and brush. In its place stood a nightmare.
The farm was the closest place to Hell I have ever seen. The top of the living building peeked over the tall trees surrounding it. It had something like a bell tower on the top of it, almost like a church might have. But instead of a bell, it had an enormous, blood-shot eye.
The eye had an iris as red as a dismembered heart. Its pupil was dilated and insane. From here, the eye looked to be about the size of a church bell and had no eyelids. Strange white filaments like those of a slime mold surrounded it, trailing down into the building. I wondered if this was the optic nerve for the great, staring eye.
The rest of the building was as black as eternity, windowless and imposing. It had a brutalist architecture, all sharp angles and steep slopes. I watched the building and the eye closely. To my horror, I realized that the entire thing was alive somehow. The eye constantly spun in its place, staring out over the surrounding hills like the Eye of Sauron. The building constantly breathed.
“Welcome!” a hushed, distorted voice cried. The words seemed to come from the breathing and living walls of the farm itself. “Welcome! Wellllll-come…”
“What the fuck is this, kid?” Dmitri whispered hoarsely. “Where’s Anna?” Pilip shook his head sadly.
“She’s inside with the other breeders,” he said, the fear and terror evident on his face. “They keep them chained in cages or bound in the basement until the time for the ritual comes.”
“And when is that?” I asked. He looked up at the sky and the fading light. We had somehow wasted nearly an entire day already. Night was coming, and we hadn’t even seen Anna yet.
“At sunset,” he responded. Dmitri nearly jumped up at that.
“Sunset?! That’s almost here! We need to go now!” he cried. I almost wanted to laugh.
“What are you going to do, stab that enormous building with your knife?” I whispered. “We need a plan. Maybe we can burn it down or…” But my words were cut off by the roaring of the building. Its scream echoed over the hills. It was immediately answered by countless others, including one that came only a few dozen feet behind us. I grabbed Dmitri’s shoulder, my panicked eyes flicking in that direction.
“There’s something…” I started to say when the brush cracked under a heavy weight. Looking up, I saw something horrible stalking us from behind.
It looked like a pig, walking on all fours with a fat, bloated body, but it was the size of an SUV. Its eyes were like the eye in the building, blood-red and dilated. All over its body, hundreds of sharp teeth grew out of its skin, covering the pink flesh like tumors. The creature almost looked like a porcupine with all the sharp points of fangs projecting from its body.
For a moment, its eyes widened as we stared at each other. They instantly narrowed as the pig roared again and gave chase. It gnashed its teeth, opening and closing its mouth in a frenzy of bloodlust. In its mouth, too, the teeth grew wild. Hundreds of razor-sharp teeth of different sizes grew from its gums, tongue and lips.
“Run!” I cried, grabbing Pilip’s arm and hauling him off the ground. The boy had a natural survivor’s instincts and immediately started running by my side, away from the approaching creature.
We broke out into the massive clearing where the living farm stood. I saw that the building had only a single door in and out, a black barn door that stood wide open. I heard Dmitri’s feet pounding the ground behind me. The heavy thuds of the approaching creature drew louder by the second.
“In the barn!” I cried, not having time to think. It was the only possible place of safety here. I sprinted faster than I ever had before towards those doors as if they were entrance to paradise itself. Without slowing, I ran into the building, trying to slam one of the doors shut behind me. Dmitri grabbed the other. With the creature only seconds away, they started swinging shut. Pilip’s small body pressed against my leg as he came forward, using his meager strength to help me.
The door was extremely heavy and hard to move. The building itself looked like it was six or seven stories tall, and the doors to the barn nearly a-third of that height. With a tortured creak, they slammed shut. A single breath later, something heavy thudded against the other size, as if it had been hit by a battering ram. But the door held. Quickly, Dmitri and I grabbed a large board leaning against the wall and stuffed it into the brackets on both sides of the door, locking it from the inside.
I noticed how cool and dark it was in here, as if I had walked into a cave. I turned, taking in the interior of the living farm for the first time. At that moment, I had to repress a scream welling up in my throat.
***
Hundreds of imprisoned women both lined both sides of the barn. They were stacked one on top of another like prison cells. Wearing filthy, blood-stained rags, most of them looked silently down on us with dead, haunted eyes. I noticed the majority were in their twenties or thirties, but their eyes looked centuries old.
Along the back wall, an enormous pig lined the wall, positioned like Jesus on the cross. It stood as tall as the barn itself. Extra eyes covered its face, a dozen of them positioned all over its cheeks and forehead. From the top of its head, I saw white filaments rising up into the bell tower. Its many blood-red eyes focused on us, as still as death.
“Welcome,” it hissed. “Welcome!” Its limbs were chained to the wall. Enormous rusted links intertwined around its body, preventing Mr. Welcome from moving.
“Anna?!” Dmitri cried, looking around frantically. There was no one else here that I could see except for Mr. Welcome and all the hostages. “Anna, where are you?!”
“Don’t scream,” Pilip said in a tiny, fear-choked voice. “Please, don’t scream…”
But it was too late. As Dmitri’s last words faded, trapdoors built into the black floor of the barn sprung open. Dozens of mutated bears and pig-creatures crept out, their predatory eyes scanning us with hunger and anger.
***
“Fuck!” Dmitri cried, running back to the door at my side. Frantically, the three of us pulled the board up and dropped it to the fleshy floor with a clatter. As hisses and growls erupted all around us and the predators creeped forwards towards us in a semi-circle, the barn door flew open.
It was night now, the darkness creeping in like a descending curtain. No pig creatures awaited us on the other side, but something worse seemed to be creeping out of the forest.
I saw snakes the color of clotted blood slithering ahead. Each one was the size of a tractor-trailer, yet they made very little noise. An occasional hiss would rip its way through the air, but they hunted silently.
As I stood in the field in front of the barn, a no-man’s land of hellish proportions, the certainty of death fell over my heart like grasping skeletal hands. I looked down at the little boy sadly. He gave me a faint smile, even though his eyes were terrified.
“I think we’re fucked,” Dmitri whispered by my side. I only nodded.
***
But at that moment, I remembered the rules, and an idea came to me.
“Just stay still,” I said. “Don’t even breathe.” Pilip and Dmitri looked at me strangely, then recognition came over their eyes. Dmitri only nodded, and then we all played statue.
The predators from the barn were only thirty feet behind us by now, crouched down and hunting us like a cat with a mouse. Yet the snakes also closed in, their black, slitted eyes gleaming with a reptilian coldness. As the mutated bears and pig creatures leaned down to pounce, I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
I felt a sudden rush of air all around me. The snakes flitted forward in a blur, their massive jaws unhinging. Two fangs swiveled out like switchblades, fangs big enough to impale a police car. Drops of clear venom fell lazily from the ends.
Keeping my eyes closed, afraid to even breathe or blink, I listened as the sounds of tearing flesh and screaming animals resonated all around me. After about thirty seconds of this, everything went deathly silent.
***
I don’t know how long we stood there like statues, but eventually, someone touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes, unbelieving. Dmitri stared at me intently.
“They’re all gone,” he whispered. “All except Mr. Welcome. It’s now or never.” I nodded, and together, we moved into the farm.
The trapdoors still lay open. I could hear very faint sobbing coming from under the building. Dmitri was afraid to make a sound. Together, the three of us went down to investigate.
We found a dark basement covered in hay. Torture tools covered the walls: iron maidens, brazen bulls, crosses and an entire universe of whips, saws, grinders, pliers, razor-wire and other blood-stained tools of the trade. In the corner, we saw Anna, her hands tied to the wall. More rope bound her feet and legs. We ran forward. When Anna saw Dmitri, she collapsed into a nervous wreck.
“Oh my God, you came! Please, get me out of here, right now,” she whispered. “They’re coming. The ritual will start soon.” Without a word, we started cutting the ropes, freeing her quickly.
“We need to be as quiet as possible,” I told Anna. “We can all get out of here. Let’s go.”
***
As we ascended from the basement back to the main floor of the living farm, the repetitive, metallic voice of Mr. Welcome kept repeating the same insane mantra.
“Welcome,” it said. “Welcome!” Once the four of us were all together, however, it changed.
“Welcome, thieves,” it hissed, its voice deepening and turning into a demonic gurgle. “That is my breeder. You will have to find out what happens to thieves.” I could only imagine all those blood-stained tools in the basement, and I shuddered.
Mr. Welcome inhaled deeply, his massive, fleshy body ballooning. With a predatory roar, he ripped the chains out of the wall of the living building. Orange pus and dark, clotted blood dripped from the holes. The barn breathed faster and deeper, the broken walls vibrating and shimmering as new life and pain flowed into them.
Mr. Welcome started moving towards us like a grinding juggernaut, walking on two legs like some sort of pig god. His many lidless eyes never looked away from us. The frayed optic nerves leading to the bell tower broke with a sound like snapping rubber bands. Dmitri looked at me with great sadness in his eyes.
“Get away,” he whispered. “I’ll distract it. Just get Anna home, no matter what.” Before I could respond, he ran forwards towards the abomination, the small, useless knife raised in one hand.
Mr. Welcome saw him coming. He tried to swipe at Dmitri with a sharp, black hoove, but Dmitri ducked, running around the back of him. He gave a battle-cry and started stabbing the monster in the back of the leg, which probably hurt it about as much as a toothpick.
But it provided a distraction. This time, Mr. Welcome spun his whole body, falling back to all four legs to deal with this nuisance. He used his massive snout to smack Dmitri hard, sending him flying across the barn. He hit the wall with a bone-shattering thud.
Dmitri’s skin immediately started to blacken, as if he were being burned alive. His eyes melted out of his face as he screamed, clawing at the dying patches of necrotic tissue spreading across his body. Within a few seconds, his screams faded to agonized groans. He tried to crawl back towards us as he died.
“Run!” I screamed, grabbing Anna’s hand and forcing her to sprint by my side. Pilip was already one step ahead of us, frantically trying to reach the shelter of the forest. I heard the ground shake behind me as Mr. Welcome drew near, moving much faster than we could ever hope to go. I knew we would never make it.
“Keep going, no matter what!” I yelled at Pilip and Anna. They kept running, the animal instinct to survive now foremost in their minds. I had to suppress mine. I turned to face the creature, the evil pig god known as Mr. Welcome.
***
In hindsight, I don’t know if God or some divine power had interceded, but the bear mace was probably one of the few items that could have saved us at that moment. Mr. Welcome had many eyes, and now that he was running on all four paws, his face was within reach. As my heart palpitated wildly, I raised the bear mace and sprayed at his dozen eyes. He didn’t slow, and I had to jump to the side to keep from being trampled. The air whooshed past me as if a subway car had gone by.
But a moment later, Mr. Welcome gave a roar- and not one of anger and hunger. This was a roar of pain and uncertainty. Blinded, Mr. Welcome frantically started running in circles, knocking down huge swathes of trees. The ear-splitting racket as he pulled the forest apart crashed over the surrounding landscape. Without a moment of hesitation, I turned to follow Pilip and Anna back to the car.
We told the police about the barn and all the hostages, but they claimed they couldn’t find it, and we never heard anything more about it.
***
Looking back on the experience, I now know why Chernobyl is a restricted zone, and it isn’t just because of the radioactivity. There are some things that hide under the surface, after all- things that grow in the dark, rotted places where no eyes roam.
2024.05.27 18:43 CIAHerpes I spent the night in a forest in Chernobyl with mutated animals. I found a mummified corpse holding a list of rules.
The area where we were heading in Eastern Europe was known for its radioactivity. We had received reports of strange animals, things that looked like they were hatched from a mad scientist’s laboratory. I didn’t know how much of it I believed, because some of the descriptions the survivors gave sounded more like wendigo and dogmen than any real animal. I figured that, in the heat of the moment and under attack, their minds had likely twisted the true form of the animals, horrifying as they were, into something truly nightmarish.
There were three of us heading into the dark Eastern European forests: my friend Dmitri, who was originally from the country and knew the language, his girlfriend Anna and myself. Everything seemed mundane enough as we flew into the country and handed over our passports. There was no sign of the horrors waiting ahead.
The first towns we encountered looked idyllic enough as we drove through them in a rental car. Isolated farmhouses with cows and chickens dotted the landscape. Plentiful fields of wheat, potatoes and corn stretched out on all sides of us. The black earth here was fertile, I knew. As we headed deeper into the radiation zone, however, the houses and farms all started to look abandoned and dilapidated, the fields barren and dead.
“Christ on a cracker,” I muttered, more to myself than to my friends, “this place looks like it suffered through the Apocalypse.”
“It did,” Dmitri said grimly. “A nuclear apocalypse. I feel like the Biblical one is far more optimistic than the true apocalypse will be. In reality, there will be no Rapture, no victory of light over darkness. If there is ever a World War 3, every major city will be consumed by nuclear fire. It will throw buses and cars thousands of feet into the air, spilling out bodies onto the burning skies. Entire streets will collapse, trapping countless millions under the rubble.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” Anna commented, her dark blue eyes staring out the window. I saw the reflection of white eyes skittering through the brush outside, small animals that disappeared in front of the approaching roar of the engine.
“How far is it?” I asked, feeling carsick and anxious. The winding roads here curved through countless hills. It reminded me of driving through parts of Northern California before, when I had retched out the window. Anna and Dmitri seemed unaffected, though. I cursed my stomach, which was always turning traitorous towards me.
“It’s a while, man,” Dmitri said. “This country is huge. Probably another three or four hour drive. And then we have to start walking.”
“Good thing we left before dawn,” Anna said, stifling a yawn. She had a can of some cheap Russian Red Bull knock-off, some fluorescent green crap that smelled like chemicals. But she drank it as if it were the finest French wine. I gazed out at the dark forests that passed us on both sides, wondering what kind of sights lay ahead in this land of the damned.
***
The Sun rose early over the gently rolling hills and black earth of Ukraine, sending its rusty streaks of blood across the sky. The going had been easy so far, except for the constant car sickness I felt. I took a few pills of meclizine, wishing that I could have smuggled some weed gummies through customs. But here, cannabis was illegal, and I was not eager to see the inside of an Eastern European prison, where lunatics like the Three Guys One Hammer maniacs and the Chessboard Killer lived in hellish conditions.
“Holy shit, would you look at that?” Dmitri said with awe and wonder oozing from his voice as the car braked abruptly. I looked up quickly, my stomach doing flips. But what I saw laying across the road instantly brought me back to the moment. Dmitri pointed a tattooed hand at the sight.
“Is that real?” Anna asked. I could only shake my head as we all stared at the dead bear that was laying across the cracked road, its dead eyes staring straight through us.
I noticed immediately that the bear had extra paws on its arms. Blood-stained claws jutted sharply out of its four paws, each seeming to have seven fingers. Its feet looked stunted and twisted, like the roots of a tree. An extra arm stuck out of the front of its chest, a pale, white fleshy growth emerging from its sternum. The mutated limb looked malformed and boneless, causing a sense of revulsion to rise up as I gazed on it. It flopped gently in the heavy wind that swirled down the surrounding hills.
“Well, I guess the rumors are true,” Dmitri said slowly, his eyes as wide and excited as a child. “Can you imagine what other kinds of things must be lurking in these forests? This is going to make a really awesome documentary.” Anna nodded, playing with a small, hand-held digital camera she took everywhere with her. She wanted to make a video that would finally go viral on the internet and help her gain some recognition for her work.
“I’m going to record everything, including this,” she said excitedly, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear as she opened the door of the car. Dawn had risen overhead, radiating the first warm rays of a bright summer day. After a long moment, I followed her out. Dmitri stood at her side, his dark eyes wide. He ran a trembling hand over his shaved head as he looked down at the enormous bear.
Anna zoomed in with the camera, kneeling down before the still beast. Her finely-formed fingers shook with excitement as she drew within inches of the corpse. I wondered how the bear had died, as I didn’t see any signs of injuries on the creature’s body. The next moment, I saw it blink.
I backpedaled away, giving a hoarse, guttural shout of warning. Anna was busy staring at the screen of the digital camera, scanning it across the bear’s extra fingers and limbs. But the panic that swept over Dmitri’s face showed me that he, too, had seen it. He grabbed Anna’s arm, dragging her back with sudden fury. She stumbled, her legs crossing under her. She crashed into him and they fell back together. A moment later, the bear came to life, its bones cracking as it twisted its head to look at the three of us.
It swiped a mutated paw at the place where Anna’s face had been only a moment before. I heard the sharp claws slice through the air like switchblades. The bear’s head ratcheted over to glare at us. It gnashed its teeth as silver streams of saliva flew from its shaking head. With a primal roar, it leapt off the ground. I turned to run back to the safety of the car, but I nearly tripped when a pale figure streaked out of the forest right in front of me.
It looked like something conjured up in a nightmare. It was naked and bloated, its skin white with bulging, pink cheeks. It looked to have a combination of human and pig features, and yet it ran upright like a person. Its irises were blood-red, its pupils huge and excited. Its beady eyes flicked over to Anna and a low, satisfied growl erupted from its wide throat. I watched the muscles work furiously in its porcine body as it sprinted towards her.
Before either Dmitri or I could react, the pig-thing grabbed Anna around the neck, its sharp, black fingers digging deeply into her skin. She squealed like a strangled rabbit as it dragged her away into the dark Ukrainian forests. Its pink lips pulled back in an excited grimace, revealing the sharp fangs underneath. I heard its guttural growls fade away rapidly. It sprinted much faster than a person, its hooves slamming the ground over and over at a superhuman speed.
“Hey!” Dmitri called excitedly, taking a step forward. “What do you…” A giant bear paw with too many gleaming claws smacked his leg out from under him, sending him flying. I only stood there, shell-shocked and amazed, as Anna disappeared into the trees.
A single moment later, the bear rose to its full height, roaring at us. Streams of spit flew from its mouth as its rancid breath washed over us, breath that emanated a smell like roadkill and infection. I put my hands up, flinching, expecting a blow that never came. When I looked up, the bear had gone back on all fours. It ran in the path the pig-creature had gone, its white, boneless extra limb hanging limply from its chest.
“What the fuck!” Dmitri cried on the ground, rocking back and forth. I came back to life, running over to his side. I saw deep gouge marks sliced through his blue jeans. Bright streams of blood lazily dripped from the claw marks on his left leg.
“We need to get help,” I cried, shaking him. His eyes looked faraway and confused, as if he didn’t fully realize what was happening. “We need to go back and get the police.”
“The police?” he asked, laughing. “The police here won’t do anything. You think they’re going to travel out into the radioactivity zone just for a missing person?” He shook his head grimly before reaching out a hand to me. “Help me up. There’s a first aid kit in the car. We need to bandage this up. Then we’re going after Anna.”
***
We had no way to call for help. The phones this far out in Chernobyl didn’t work, and there were never any cell phone towers built in the silent land. After Dmitri had disinfected and bandaged his legs, he rummaged through the trunk, looking for weapons.
“God damn, there’s nothing good here,” he said despondently. “Some bear mace, some knives… what good is any of that going to do against these mutated monsters? We need an AK-47.” I nodded in agreement.
“Too bad we’re not in the US,” I said. “The only guns you’re going to get around here are the ones you take off the bodies of Russian soldiers.”
“Yeah, if only,” he muttered sadly, handing me a large folding knife. “We have one canister of bear mace, three knives and a tire iron. Not exactly an arsenal.” I really didn’t want to go into those dark woods, but thinking of Anna being tortured or murdered made me feel sick and weak. I shook my head, mentally torn.
“Here, take the bear mace, too. I’ll take the tire iron and a knife,” he continued, forcing the black canister into my numb fingers. “You ready for this?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “I think we should try to find help. If we both go out there and get slaughtered, no one will ever find Anna.”
“The nearest town is two hours west of here,” he responded icily. “By the time we get help, her trail will have gone cold. It will take at least five or six hours to get any rescue out here. No, we need to do this, and we need to do it now. If you don’t want to come…”
“I’ll come,” I said grimly, my heart pounding. “Fuck it.”
***
Dmitri had a sad history. As a child living in Ukraine, he had been kidnapped by an insane neighbor and kept in a dirt pit outside for weeks, wallowing in his own piss and shit, slowly starving. He said the man would throw down a stale crust of bread or a rice cake into the mud and human waste every few days. Dmitri would pull the food out, wipe off the feces and eat it. I shuddered, remembering the horror stories he had told me. I knew he had a personal reason for making sure Anna was not subjected to the same endless suffering, even if it meant his own death.
The bear and the pig-creature had left a clear trail of broken brush and snapped twigs snaking through the forest. Side by side, we moved cautiously ahead, constantly checking our backs. But we saw no signs of movement and heard nothing. Up ahead, the trees abruptly opened up, letting golden sunlight stream down. Blinking quickly, we left the forest behind.
We walked out into a field in the middle of a valley surrounded by tall, dark hills. Grass and weeds rippled in waves as the wind swept past us.
Formed in a semi-circle in front of us, human skeletons lay endlessly dreaming. They stared up into the vast blue sky with grinning skulls and empty sockets. Some still had putrefying strips of flesh and ligaments clinging to the bones. Animals had scattered some of the bodies, but others lay complete, like corpses in a tomb. Human skulls, leg bones and arm bones lay scattered haphazardly across the field, their surfaces yellowed and cracked with age. It looked like a bone orchard.
“What are we looking at right now?” I whispered, furtively glancing around at the field of bones. An insane part of my mind wondered if they might rise from the dead and come after us. Compared to what we had already seen in this place of nightmares, it didn’t seem that far-fetched.
“Dead bodies,” Dmitri said grimly.
“Victims of the nuclear accident?” I asked. He shook his head, pointing at some of the fresher corpses nearby. Their throats looked like they had been ripped out, the bones of their necks showing deep bite marks. The one nearest us had its skeletal fingers wrapped around a glass bottle with a piece of paper rolled inside and a cork inserted into the top.
I knelt down, prying the fingers back with soft, cracking noises. I uncorked it and took out the paper. It felt thick in my hands, like some kind of hand-crafted paper from the old days. The cursive flowing across the sheet looked like it had been written in a quill pen with actual ink. In confusion, I read the letter aloud:
“Rules to survive in the Helskin Nature Preserve:
“1. The cult known as the Golden Butchers has been kidnapping women to breed them with the pig-creatures. They worship the offspring that result from these unions as gods. If a member of your group gets taken, you will find them in the living farm at the end of the forest.
“2. If you encounter Mr. Welcome, the enormous pig god with the eyes on his forehead, you must not let him touch you.
“3. The red snakes can only see while you’re moving. If you encounter them, stay still. Don’t even breathe.”
“Breeding women with pig-creatures?!” Dmitri cried, horror washing over his face. “We need to find her! But where do we even start?” I looked through the field, trying to see any sign of tracks, but it looked like hundreds of animals had gone through this field recently. Paths of tall, crushed grass crisscrossed the enormous length of it, some of them worn down to black dirt and stones. I just shook my head, having no idea.
A distant scream rolled its way down the surrounding hills. It came from our left and sounded very much like Anna. Dmitri’s eyes turned cold. Without looking back at me, he started frantically running towards the sound. It faded away within seconds.
“Wait up!” I cried, sprinting as fast as I could. His freshly-shaved head gleamed as he disappeared into the trees. Gripping the open buck knife in my hand, my knuckles white with tension and fear, I followed after him.
***
We wandered for hours through the woods, never hearing a second scream to guide our path. We both hoped that we were going in the right direction. A small deer trail winding through the brush opened up, heading up rocky hills and clear streams of water.
Sweating and nervous, we traveled for miles and miles, rarely talking. A few times, I tried to get Dmitri to slow down.
“How do you know you’re going in the right direction?” I asked. “We’ve been walking this trail for five hours and haven’t seen a thing.”
“This was the direction the scream came from,” he said weakly. “Where else would they go? They would want to travel quickly with a hostage. They would take a trail.” I didn’t point out that there may be other trails, that we had absolutely no idea where we were going.
As we reached the peak of a mountain, I pulled a small, portable Geiger counter we had taken along for the trip. The radioactivity here was high, much higher than normal background radiation. I didn’t know how far we were from the nuclear power plant at the center of all this, but at a certain point, it would become too dangerous to keep moving forward.
Dmitri was next to me, chugging a bottle of water when a shriek rang out below us. It sounded almost animalistic but had a strange, electronic distortion. Amplified to an ear-splitting cacophony, it echoed through the trees. Much quieter roars answered from the forests all around us in response, the cries of bears and other predators. These sounded much closer, however.
“Pssst,” a pile of thick ferns said to my left, shaking suddenly. In Ukrainian, the ferns continued by whispering, “Hey, you!” I jumped, swinging the knife in the direction of the brush, watching the blade shake wildly in my hand as fresh waves of adrenaline surged through my body. Dmitri was by my side, his eyes wide and wild. He glanced over at me, nodding. He had the tire iron raised like a tennis racket, ready to strike. A moment later, a little boy crawled out.
He was scarecrow thin, his face smudged with dirt and filth, his dark eyes sunken and lifeless deep inside his small head. He had black hair and a nose like a little twisted lump in the center of his face. It seemed like it had been repeatedly broken. He didn’t look older than ten, but he looked so emaciated that it was impossible to say. The rags and tatters he wore barely covered his body, and the boy was almost in his Genesis suit.
“Come out,” I said grimly. Dmitri’s eyes bulged from his head.
“Don’t kill me, please,” the boy whispered in a cracked, choked voice, his accent giving all his words a guttural tone. “Take me out of here. My Mom and Dad brought me here, they were part of the Golden Butchers, but a couple months ago, they got sick and died from all the poison in the water and food.”
“Who are you, kid?” Dmitri said, reaching down and pulling him up to his feet. I watched the boy closely, the bear mace in one hand and the knife in the other, looking for any sign of sudden violence or betrayal.
“My name is Pilip. I come from the farm,” he said, pointing vaguely towards the tallest peak in the area. “You can’t see it from here, but it’s over there.” Dmitri kneeled down until he was eye-to-eye with Pilip.
“Can you take us there?” he said. Pilip’s eyes teared up, but he slowly nodded.
“If you will take me with you when you leave, I’ll show you,” he said, crying now, “but it is a horrible place. It is the place of Mr. Welcome.”
***
Pilip guided us to the living farm, saving us a great deal of time. He navigated the forest like an experienced hiker, seeming to know the entire area from the smallest clues: a split, fallen tree, or a tree with a whorl like an eye, or a sudden curve in a babbling brook. It saved us a great deal of time wandering through the woods, where everything looked exactly the same to me.
“There,” he said, pointing through a break in the trees to the farm. The entire top of the hill was cleared of trees and brush. In its place stood a nightmare.
The farm was the closest place to Hell I have ever seen. The top of the living building peeked over the tall trees surrounding it. It had something like a bell tower on the top of it, almost like a church might have. But instead of a bell, it had an enormous, blood-shot eye.
The eye had an iris as red as a dismembered heart. Its pupil was dilated and insane. From here, the eye looked to be about the size of a church bell and had no eyelids. Strange white filaments like those of a slime mold surrounded it, trailing down into the building. I wondered if this was the optic nerve for the great, staring eye.
The rest of the building was as black as eternity, windowless and imposing. It had a brutalist architecture, all sharp angles and steep slopes. I watched the building and the eye closely. To my horror, I realized that the entire thing was alive somehow. The eye constantly spun in its place, staring out over the surrounding hills like the Eye of Sauron. The building constantly breathed.
“Welcome!” a hushed, distorted voice cried. The words seemed to come from the breathing and living walls of the farm itself. “Welcome! Wellllll-come…”
“What the fuck is this, kid?” Dmitri whispered hoarsely. “Where’s Anna?” Pilip shook his head sadly.
“She’s inside with the other breeders,” he said, the fear and terror evident on his face. “They keep them chained in cages or bound in the basement until the time for the ritual comes.”
“And when is that?” I asked. He looked up at the sky and the fading light. We had somehow wasted nearly an entire day already. Night was coming, and we hadn’t even seen Anna yet.
“At sunset,” he responded. Dmitri nearly jumped up at that.
“Sunset?! That’s almost here! We need to go now!” he cried. I almost wanted to laugh.
“What are you going to do, stab that enormous building with your knife?” I whispered. “We need a plan. Maybe we can burn it down or…” But my words were cut off by the roaring of the building. Its scream echoed over the hills. It was immediately answered by countless others, including one that came only a few dozen feet behind us. I grabbed Dmitri’s shoulder, my panicked eyes flicking in that direction.
“There’s something…” I started to say when the brush cracked under a heavy weight. Looking up, I saw something horrible stalking us from behind.
It looked like a pig, walking on all fours with a fat, bloated body, but it was the size of an SUV. Its eyes were like the eye in the building, blood-red and dilated. All over its body, hundreds of sharp teeth grew out of its skin, covering the pink flesh like tumors. The creature almost looked like a porcupine with all the sharp points of fangs projecting from its body.
For a moment, its eyes widened as we stared at each other. They instantly narrowed as the pig roared again and gave chase. It gnashed its teeth, opening and closing its mouth in a frenzy of bloodlust. In its mouth, too, the teeth grew wild. Hundreds of razor-sharp teeth of different sizes grew from its gums, tongue and lips.
“Run!” I cried, grabbing Pilip’s arm and hauling him off the ground. The boy had a natural survivor’s instincts and immediately started running by my side, away from the approaching creature.
We broke out into the massive clearing where the living farm stood. I saw that the building had only a single door in and out, a black barn door that stood wide open. I heard Dmitri’s feet pounding the ground behind me. The heavy thuds of the approaching creature drew louder by the second.
“In the barn!” I cried, not having time to think. It was the only possible place of safety here. I sprinted faster than I ever had before towards those doors as if they were entrance to paradise itself. Without slowing, I ran into the building, trying to slam one of the doors shut behind me. Dmitri grabbed the other. With the creature only seconds away, they started swinging shut. Pilip’s small body pressed against my leg as he came forward, using his meager strength to help me.
The door was extremely heavy and hard to move. The building itself looked like it was six or seven stories tall, and the doors to the barn nearly a-third of that height. With a tortured creak, they slammed shut. A single breath later, something heavy thudded against the other size, as if it had been hit by a battering ram. But the door held. Quickly, Dmitri and I grabbed a large board leaning against the wall and stuffed it into the brackets on both sides of the door, locking it from the inside.
I noticed how cool and dark it was in here, as if I had walked into a cave. I turned, taking in the interior of the living farm for the first time. At that moment, I had to repress a scream welling up in my throat.
***
Hundreds of imprisoned women both lined both sides of the barn. They were stacked one on top of another like prison cells. Wearing filthy, blood-stained rags, most of them looked silently down on us with dead, haunted eyes. I noticed the majority were in their twenties or thirties, but their eyes looked centuries old.
Along the back wall, an enormous pig lined the wall, positioned like Jesus on the cross. It stood as tall as the barn itself. Extra eyes covered its face, a dozen of them positioned all over its cheeks and forehead. From the top of its head, I saw white filaments rising up into the bell tower. Its many blood-red eyes focused on us, as still as death.
“Welcome,” it hissed. “Welcome!” Its limbs were chained to the wall. Enormous rusted links intertwined around its body, preventing Mr. Welcome from moving.
“Anna?!” Dmitri cried, looking around frantically. There was no one else here that I could see except for Mr. Welcome and all the hostages. “Anna, where are you?!”
“Don’t scream,” Pilip said in a tiny, fear-choked voice. “Please, don’t scream…”
But it was too late. As Dmitri’s last words faded, trapdoors built into the black floor of the barn sprung open. Dozens of mutated bears and pig-creatures crept out, their predatory eyes scanning us with hunger and anger.
***
“Fuck!” Dmitri cried, running back to the door at my side. Frantically, the three of us pulled the board up and dropped it to the fleshy floor with a clatter. As hisses and growls erupted all around us and the predators creeped forwards towards us in a semi-circle, the barn door flew open.
It was night now, the darkness creeping in like a descending curtain. No pig creatures awaited us on the other side, but something worse seemed to be creeping out of the forest.
I saw snakes the color of clotted blood slithering ahead. Each one was the size of a tractor-trailer, yet they made very little noise. An occasional hiss would rip its way through the air, but they hunted silently.
As I stood in the field in front of the barn, a no-man’s land of hellish proportions, the certainty of death fell over my heart like grasping skeletal hands. I looked down at the little boy sadly. He gave me a faint smile, even though his eyes were terrified.
“I think we’re fucked,” Dmitri whispered by my side. I only nodded.
***
But at that moment, I remembered the rules, and an idea came to me.
“Just stay still,” I said. “Don’t even breathe.” Pilip and Dmitri looked at me strangely, then recognition came over their eyes. Dmitri only nodded, and then we all played statue.
The predators from the barn were only thirty feet behind us by now, crouched down and hunting us like a cat with a mouse. Yet the snakes also closed in, their black, slitted eyes gleaming with a reptilian coldness. As the mutated bears and pig creatures leaned down to pounce, I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
I felt a sudden rush of air all around me. The snakes flitted forward in a blur, their massive jaws unhinging. Two fangs swiveled out like switchblades, fangs big enough to impale a police car. Drops of clear venom fell lazily from the ends.
Keeping my eyes closed, afraid to even breathe or blink, I listened as the sounds of tearing flesh and screaming animals resonated all around me. After about thirty seconds of this, everything went deathly silent.
***
I don’t know how long we stood there like statues, but eventually, someone touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes, unbelieving. Dmitri stared at me intently.
“They’re all gone,” he whispered. “All except Mr. Welcome. It’s now or never.” I nodded, and together, we moved into the farm.
The trapdoors still lay open. I could hear very faint sobbing coming from under the building. Dmitri was afraid to make a sound. Together, the three of us went down to investigate.
We found a dark basement covered in hay. Torture tools covered the walls: iron maidens, brazen bulls, crosses and an entire universe of whips, saws, grinders, pliers, razor-wire and other blood-stained tools of the trade. In the corner, we saw Anna, her hands tied to the wall. More rope bound her feet and legs. We ran forward. When Anna saw Dmitri, she collapsed into a nervous wreck.
“Oh my God, you came! Please, get me out of here, right now,” she whispered. “They’re coming. The ritual will start soon.” Without a word, we started cutting the ropes, freeing her quickly.
“We need to be as quiet as possible,” I told Anna. “We can all get out of here. Let’s go.”
***
As we ascended from the basement back to the main floor of the living farm, the repetitive, metallic voice of Mr. Welcome kept repeating the same insane mantra.
“Welcome,” it said. “Welcome!” Once the four of us were all together, however, it changed.
“Welcome, thieves,” it hissed, its voice deepening and turning into a demonic gurgle. “That is my breeder. You will have to find out what happens to thieves.” I could only imagine all those blood-stained tools in the basement, and I shuddered.
Mr. Welcome inhaled deeply, his massive, fleshy body ballooning. With a predatory roar, he ripped the chains out of the wall of the living building. Orange pus and dark, clotted blood dripped from the holes. The barn breathed faster and deeper, the broken walls vibrating and shimmering as new life and pain flowed into them.
Mr. Welcome started moving towards us like a grinding juggernaut, walking on two legs like some sort of pig god. His many lidless eyes never looked away from us. The frayed optic nerves leading to the bell tower broke with a sound like snapping rubber bands. Dmitri looked at me with great sadness in his eyes.
“Get away,” he whispered. “I’ll distract it. Just get Anna home, no matter what.” Before I could respond, he ran forwards towards the abomination, the small, useless knife raised in one hand.
Mr. Welcome saw him coming. He tried to swipe at Dmitri with a sharp, black hoove, but Dmitri ducked, running around the back of him. He gave a battle-cry and started stabbing the monster in the back of the leg, which probably hurt it about as much as a toothpick.
But it provided a distraction. This time, Mr. Welcome spun his whole body, falling back to all four legs to deal with this nuisance. He used his massive snout to smack Dmitri hard, sending him flying across the barn. He hit the wall with a bone-shattering thud.
Dmitri’s skin immediately started to blacken, as if he were being burned alive. His eyes melted out of his face as he screamed, clawing at the dying patches of necrotic tissue spreading across his body. Within a few seconds, his screams faded to agonized groans. He tried to crawl back towards us as he died.
“Run!” I screamed, grabbing Anna’s hand and forcing her to sprint by my side. Pilip was already one step ahead of us, frantically trying to reach the shelter of the forest. I heard the ground shake behind me as Mr. Welcome drew near, moving much faster than we could ever hope to go. I knew we would never make it.
“Keep going, no matter what!” I yelled at Pilip and Anna. They kept running, the animal instinct to survive now foremost in their minds. I had to suppress mine. I turned to face the creature, the evil pig god known as Mr. Welcome.
***
In hindsight, I don’t know if God or some divine power had interceded, but the bear mace was probably one of the few items that could have saved us at that moment. Mr. Welcome had many eyes, and now that he was running on all four paws, his face was within reach. As my heart palpitated wildly, I raised the bear mace and sprayed at his dozen eyes. He didn’t slow, and I had to jump to the side to keep from being trampled. The air whooshed past me as if a subway car had gone by.
But a moment later, Mr. Welcome gave a roar- and not one of anger and hunger. This was a roar of pain and uncertainty. Blinded, Mr. Welcome frantically started running in circles, knocking down huge swathes of trees. The ear-splitting racket as he pulled the forest apart crashed over the surrounding landscape. Without a moment of hesitation, I turned to follow Pilip and Anna back to the car.
We told the police about the barn and all the hostages, but they claimed they couldn’t find it, and we never heard anything more about it.
***
Looking back on the experience, I now know why Chernobyl is a restricted zone, and it isn’t just because of the radioactivity. There are some things that hide under the surface, after all- things that grow in the dark, rotted places where no eyes roam.
submitted by CIAHerpes to horrorstories [link] [comments]
There were three of us heading into the dark Eastern European forests: my friend Dmitri, who was originally from the country and knew the language, his girlfriend Anna and myself. Everything seemed mundane enough as we flew into the country and handed over our passports. There was no sign of the horrors waiting ahead.
The first towns we encountered looked idyllic enough as we drove through them in a rental car. Isolated farmhouses with cows and chickens dotted the landscape. Plentiful fields of wheat, potatoes and corn stretched out on all sides of us. The black earth here was fertile, I knew. As we headed deeper into the radiation zone, however, the houses and farms all started to look abandoned and dilapidated, the fields barren and dead.
“Christ on a cracker,” I muttered, more to myself than to my friends, “this place looks like it suffered through the Apocalypse.”
“It did,” Dmitri said grimly. “A nuclear apocalypse. I feel like the Biblical one is far more optimistic than the true apocalypse will be. In reality, there will be no Rapture, no victory of light over darkness. If there is ever a World War 3, every major city will be consumed by nuclear fire. It will throw buses and cars thousands of feet into the air, spilling out bodies onto the burning skies. Entire streets will collapse, trapping countless millions under the rubble.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” Anna commented, her dark blue eyes staring out the window. I saw the reflection of white eyes skittering through the brush outside, small animals that disappeared in front of the approaching roar of the engine.
“How far is it?” I asked, feeling carsick and anxious. The winding roads here curved through countless hills. It reminded me of driving through parts of Northern California before, when I had retched out the window. Anna and Dmitri seemed unaffected, though. I cursed my stomach, which was always turning traitorous towards me.
“It’s a while, man,” Dmitri said. “This country is huge. Probably another three or four hour drive. And then we have to start walking.”
“Good thing we left before dawn,” Anna said, stifling a yawn. She had a can of some cheap Russian Red Bull knock-off, some fluorescent green crap that smelled like chemicals. But she drank it as if it were the finest French wine. I gazed out at the dark forests that passed us on both sides, wondering what kind of sights lay ahead in this land of the damned.
***
The Sun rose early over the gently rolling hills and black earth of Ukraine, sending its rusty streaks of blood across the sky. The going had been easy so far, except for the constant car sickness I felt. I took a few pills of meclizine, wishing that I could have smuggled some weed gummies through customs. But here, cannabis was illegal, and I was not eager to see the inside of an Eastern European prison, where lunatics like the Three Guys One Hammer maniacs and the Chessboard Killer lived in hellish conditions.
“Holy shit, would you look at that?” Dmitri said with awe and wonder oozing from his voice as the car braked abruptly. I looked up quickly, my stomach doing flips. But what I saw laying across the road instantly brought me back to the moment. Dmitri pointed a tattooed hand at the sight.
“Is that real?” Anna asked. I could only shake my head as we all stared at the dead bear that was laying across the cracked road, its dead eyes staring straight through us.
I noticed immediately that the bear had extra paws on its arms. Blood-stained claws jutted sharply out of its four paws, each seeming to have seven fingers. Its feet looked stunted and twisted, like the roots of a tree. An extra arm stuck out of the front of its chest, a pale, white fleshy growth emerging from its sternum. The mutated limb looked malformed and boneless, causing a sense of revulsion to rise up as I gazed on it. It flopped gently in the heavy wind that swirled down the surrounding hills.
“Well, I guess the rumors are true,” Dmitri said slowly, his eyes as wide and excited as a child. “Can you imagine what other kinds of things must be lurking in these forests? This is going to make a really awesome documentary.” Anna nodded, playing with a small, hand-held digital camera she took everywhere with her. She wanted to make a video that would finally go viral on the internet and help her gain some recognition for her work.
“I’m going to record everything, including this,” she said excitedly, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear as she opened the door of the car. Dawn had risen overhead, radiating the first warm rays of a bright summer day. After a long moment, I followed her out. Dmitri stood at her side, his dark eyes wide. He ran a trembling hand over his shaved head as he looked down at the enormous bear.
Anna zoomed in with the camera, kneeling down before the still beast. Her finely-formed fingers shook with excitement as she drew within inches of the corpse. I wondered how the bear had died, as I didn’t see any signs of injuries on the creature’s body. The next moment, I saw it blink.
I backpedaled away, giving a hoarse, guttural shout of warning. Anna was busy staring at the screen of the digital camera, scanning it across the bear’s extra fingers and limbs. But the panic that swept over Dmitri’s face showed me that he, too, had seen it. He grabbed Anna’s arm, dragging her back with sudden fury. She stumbled, her legs crossing under her. She crashed into him and they fell back together. A moment later, the bear came to life, its bones cracking as it twisted its head to look at the three of us.
It swiped a mutated paw at the place where Anna’s face had been only a moment before. I heard the sharp claws slice through the air like switchblades. The bear’s head ratcheted over to glare at us. It gnashed its teeth as silver streams of saliva flew from its shaking head. With a primal roar, it leapt off the ground. I turned to run back to the safety of the car, but I nearly tripped when a pale figure streaked out of the forest right in front of me.
It looked like something conjured up in a nightmare. It was naked and bloated, its skin white with bulging, pink cheeks. It looked to have a combination of human and pig features, and yet it ran upright like a person. Its irises were blood-red, its pupils huge and excited. Its beady eyes flicked over to Anna and a low, satisfied growl erupted from its wide throat. I watched the muscles work furiously in its porcine body as it sprinted towards her.
Before either Dmitri or I could react, the pig-thing grabbed Anna around the neck, its sharp, black fingers digging deeply into her skin. She squealed like a strangled rabbit as it dragged her away into the dark Ukrainian forests. Its pink lips pulled back in an excited grimace, revealing the sharp fangs underneath. I heard its guttural growls fade away rapidly. It sprinted much faster than a person, its hooves slamming the ground over and over at a superhuman speed.
“Hey!” Dmitri called excitedly, taking a step forward. “What do you…” A giant bear paw with too many gleaming claws smacked his leg out from under him, sending him flying. I only stood there, shell-shocked and amazed, as Anna disappeared into the trees.
A single moment later, the bear rose to its full height, roaring at us. Streams of spit flew from its mouth as its rancid breath washed over us, breath that emanated a smell like roadkill and infection. I put my hands up, flinching, expecting a blow that never came. When I looked up, the bear had gone back on all fours. It ran in the path the pig-creature had gone, its white, boneless extra limb hanging limply from its chest.
“What the fuck!” Dmitri cried on the ground, rocking back and forth. I came back to life, running over to his side. I saw deep gouge marks sliced through his blue jeans. Bright streams of blood lazily dripped from the claw marks on his left leg.
“We need to get help,” I cried, shaking him. His eyes looked faraway and confused, as if he didn’t fully realize what was happening. “We need to go back and get the police.”
“The police?” he asked, laughing. “The police here won’t do anything. You think they’re going to travel out into the radioactivity zone just for a missing person?” He shook his head grimly before reaching out a hand to me. “Help me up. There’s a first aid kit in the car. We need to bandage this up. Then we’re going after Anna.”
***
We had no way to call for help. The phones this far out in Chernobyl didn’t work, and there were never any cell phone towers built in the silent land. After Dmitri had disinfected and bandaged his legs, he rummaged through the trunk, looking for weapons.
“God damn, there’s nothing good here,” he said despondently. “Some bear mace, some knives… what good is any of that going to do against these mutated monsters? We need an AK-47.” I nodded in agreement.
“Too bad we’re not in the US,” I said. “The only guns you’re going to get around here are the ones you take off the bodies of Russian soldiers.”
“Yeah, if only,” he muttered sadly, handing me a large folding knife. “We have one canister of bear mace, three knives and a tire iron. Not exactly an arsenal.” I really didn’t want to go into those dark woods, but thinking of Anna being tortured or murdered made me feel sick and weak. I shook my head, mentally torn.
“Here, take the bear mace, too. I’ll take the tire iron and a knife,” he continued, forcing the black canister into my numb fingers. “You ready for this?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “I think we should try to find help. If we both go out there and get slaughtered, no one will ever find Anna.”
“The nearest town is two hours west of here,” he responded icily. “By the time we get help, her trail will have gone cold. It will take at least five or six hours to get any rescue out here. No, we need to do this, and we need to do it now. If you don’t want to come…”
“I’ll come,” I said grimly, my heart pounding. “Fuck it.”
***
Dmitri had a sad history. As a child living in Ukraine, he had been kidnapped by an insane neighbor and kept in a dirt pit outside for weeks, wallowing in his own piss and shit, slowly starving. He said the man would throw down a stale crust of bread or a rice cake into the mud and human waste every few days. Dmitri would pull the food out, wipe off the feces and eat it. I shuddered, remembering the horror stories he had told me. I knew he had a personal reason for making sure Anna was not subjected to the same endless suffering, even if it meant his own death.
The bear and the pig-creature had left a clear trail of broken brush and snapped twigs snaking through the forest. Side by side, we moved cautiously ahead, constantly checking our backs. But we saw no signs of movement and heard nothing. Up ahead, the trees abruptly opened up, letting golden sunlight stream down. Blinking quickly, we left the forest behind.
We walked out into a field in the middle of a valley surrounded by tall, dark hills. Grass and weeds rippled in waves as the wind swept past us.
Formed in a semi-circle in front of us, human skeletons lay endlessly dreaming. They stared up into the vast blue sky with grinning skulls and empty sockets. Some still had putrefying strips of flesh and ligaments clinging to the bones. Animals had scattered some of the bodies, but others lay complete, like corpses in a tomb. Human skulls, leg bones and arm bones lay scattered haphazardly across the field, their surfaces yellowed and cracked with age. It looked like a bone orchard.
“What are we looking at right now?” I whispered, furtively glancing around at the field of bones. An insane part of my mind wondered if they might rise from the dead and come after us. Compared to what we had already seen in this place of nightmares, it didn’t seem that far-fetched.
“Dead bodies,” Dmitri said grimly.
“Victims of the nuclear accident?” I asked. He shook his head, pointing at some of the fresher corpses nearby. Their throats looked like they had been ripped out, the bones of their necks showing deep bite marks. The one nearest us had its skeletal fingers wrapped around a glass bottle with a piece of paper rolled inside and a cork inserted into the top.
I knelt down, prying the fingers back with soft, cracking noises. I uncorked it and took out the paper. It felt thick in my hands, like some kind of hand-crafted paper from the old days. The cursive flowing across the sheet looked like it had been written in a quill pen with actual ink. In confusion, I read the letter aloud:
“Rules to survive in the Helskin Nature Preserve:
“1. The cult known as the Golden Butchers has been kidnapping women to breed them with the pig-creatures. They worship the offspring that result from these unions as gods. If a member of your group gets taken, you will find them in the living farm at the end of the forest.
“2. If you encounter Mr. Welcome, the enormous pig god with the eyes on his forehead, you must not let him touch you.
“3. The red snakes can only see while you’re moving. If you encounter them, stay still. Don’t even breathe.”
“Breeding women with pig-creatures?!” Dmitri cried, horror washing over his face. “We need to find her! But where do we even start?” I looked through the field, trying to see any sign of tracks, but it looked like hundreds of animals had gone through this field recently. Paths of tall, crushed grass crisscrossed the enormous length of it, some of them worn down to black dirt and stones. I just shook my head, having no idea.
A distant scream rolled its way down the surrounding hills. It came from our left and sounded very much like Anna. Dmitri’s eyes turned cold. Without looking back at me, he started frantically running towards the sound. It faded away within seconds.
“Wait up!” I cried, sprinting as fast as I could. His freshly-shaved head gleamed as he disappeared into the trees. Gripping the open buck knife in my hand, my knuckles white with tension and fear, I followed after him.
***
We wandered for hours through the woods, never hearing a second scream to guide our path. We both hoped that we were going in the right direction. A small deer trail winding through the brush opened up, heading up rocky hills and clear streams of water.
Sweating and nervous, we traveled for miles and miles, rarely talking. A few times, I tried to get Dmitri to slow down.
“How do you know you’re going in the right direction?” I asked. “We’ve been walking this trail for five hours and haven’t seen a thing.”
“This was the direction the scream came from,” he said weakly. “Where else would they go? They would want to travel quickly with a hostage. They would take a trail.” I didn’t point out that there may be other trails, that we had absolutely no idea where we were going.
As we reached the peak of a mountain, I pulled a small, portable Geiger counter we had taken along for the trip. The radioactivity here was high, much higher than normal background radiation. I didn’t know how far we were from the nuclear power plant at the center of all this, but at a certain point, it would become too dangerous to keep moving forward.
Dmitri was next to me, chugging a bottle of water when a shriek rang out below us. It sounded almost animalistic but had a strange, electronic distortion. Amplified to an ear-splitting cacophony, it echoed through the trees. Much quieter roars answered from the forests all around us in response, the cries of bears and other predators. These sounded much closer, however.
“Pssst,” a pile of thick ferns said to my left, shaking suddenly. In Ukrainian, the ferns continued by whispering, “Hey, you!” I jumped, swinging the knife in the direction of the brush, watching the blade shake wildly in my hand as fresh waves of adrenaline surged through my body. Dmitri was by my side, his eyes wide and wild. He glanced over at me, nodding. He had the tire iron raised like a tennis racket, ready to strike. A moment later, a little boy crawled out.
He was scarecrow thin, his face smudged with dirt and filth, his dark eyes sunken and lifeless deep inside his small head. He had black hair and a nose like a little twisted lump in the center of his face. It seemed like it had been repeatedly broken. He didn’t look older than ten, but he looked so emaciated that it was impossible to say. The rags and tatters he wore barely covered his body, and the boy was almost in his Genesis suit.
“Come out,” I said grimly. Dmitri’s eyes bulged from his head.
“Don’t kill me, please,” the boy whispered in a cracked, choked voice, his accent giving all his words a guttural tone. “Take me out of here. My Mom and Dad brought me here, they were part of the Golden Butchers, but a couple months ago, they got sick and died from all the poison in the water and food.”
“Who are you, kid?” Dmitri said, reaching down and pulling him up to his feet. I watched the boy closely, the bear mace in one hand and the knife in the other, looking for any sign of sudden violence or betrayal.
“My name is Pilip. I come from the farm,” he said, pointing vaguely towards the tallest peak in the area. “You can’t see it from here, but it’s over there.” Dmitri kneeled down until he was eye-to-eye with Pilip.
“Can you take us there?” he said. Pilip’s eyes teared up, but he slowly nodded.
“If you will take me with you when you leave, I’ll show you,” he said, crying now, “but it is a horrible place. It is the place of Mr. Welcome.”
***
Pilip guided us to the living farm, saving us a great deal of time. He navigated the forest like an experienced hiker, seeming to know the entire area from the smallest clues: a split, fallen tree, or a tree with a whorl like an eye, or a sudden curve in a babbling brook. It saved us a great deal of time wandering through the woods, where everything looked exactly the same to me.
“There,” he said, pointing through a break in the trees to the farm. The entire top of the hill was cleared of trees and brush. In its place stood a nightmare.
The farm was the closest place to Hell I have ever seen. The top of the living building peeked over the tall trees surrounding it. It had something like a bell tower on the top of it, almost like a church might have. But instead of a bell, it had an enormous, blood-shot eye.
The eye had an iris as red as a dismembered heart. Its pupil was dilated and insane. From here, the eye looked to be about the size of a church bell and had no eyelids. Strange white filaments like those of a slime mold surrounded it, trailing down into the building. I wondered if this was the optic nerve for the great, staring eye.
The rest of the building was as black as eternity, windowless and imposing. It had a brutalist architecture, all sharp angles and steep slopes. I watched the building and the eye closely. To my horror, I realized that the entire thing was alive somehow. The eye constantly spun in its place, staring out over the surrounding hills like the Eye of Sauron. The building constantly breathed.
“Welcome!” a hushed, distorted voice cried. The words seemed to come from the breathing and living walls of the farm itself. “Welcome! Wellllll-come…”
“What the fuck is this, kid?” Dmitri whispered hoarsely. “Where’s Anna?” Pilip shook his head sadly.
“She’s inside with the other breeders,” he said, the fear and terror evident on his face. “They keep them chained in cages or bound in the basement until the time for the ritual comes.”
“And when is that?” I asked. He looked up at the sky and the fading light. We had somehow wasted nearly an entire day already. Night was coming, and we hadn’t even seen Anna yet.
“At sunset,” he responded. Dmitri nearly jumped up at that.
“Sunset?! That’s almost here! We need to go now!” he cried. I almost wanted to laugh.
“What are you going to do, stab that enormous building with your knife?” I whispered. “We need a plan. Maybe we can burn it down or…” But my words were cut off by the roaring of the building. Its scream echoed over the hills. It was immediately answered by countless others, including one that came only a few dozen feet behind us. I grabbed Dmitri’s shoulder, my panicked eyes flicking in that direction.
“There’s something…” I started to say when the brush cracked under a heavy weight. Looking up, I saw something horrible stalking us from behind.
It looked like a pig, walking on all fours with a fat, bloated body, but it was the size of an SUV. Its eyes were like the eye in the building, blood-red and dilated. All over its body, hundreds of sharp teeth grew out of its skin, covering the pink flesh like tumors. The creature almost looked like a porcupine with all the sharp points of fangs projecting from its body.
For a moment, its eyes widened as we stared at each other. They instantly narrowed as the pig roared again and gave chase. It gnashed its teeth, opening and closing its mouth in a frenzy of bloodlust. In its mouth, too, the teeth grew wild. Hundreds of razor-sharp teeth of different sizes grew from its gums, tongue and lips.
“Run!” I cried, grabbing Pilip’s arm and hauling him off the ground. The boy had a natural survivor’s instincts and immediately started running by my side, away from the approaching creature.
We broke out into the massive clearing where the living farm stood. I saw that the building had only a single door in and out, a black barn door that stood wide open. I heard Dmitri’s feet pounding the ground behind me. The heavy thuds of the approaching creature drew louder by the second.
“In the barn!” I cried, not having time to think. It was the only possible place of safety here. I sprinted faster than I ever had before towards those doors as if they were entrance to paradise itself. Without slowing, I ran into the building, trying to slam one of the doors shut behind me. Dmitri grabbed the other. With the creature only seconds away, they started swinging shut. Pilip’s small body pressed against my leg as he came forward, using his meager strength to help me.
The door was extremely heavy and hard to move. The building itself looked like it was six or seven stories tall, and the doors to the barn nearly a-third of that height. With a tortured creak, they slammed shut. A single breath later, something heavy thudded against the other size, as if it had been hit by a battering ram. But the door held. Quickly, Dmitri and I grabbed a large board leaning against the wall and stuffed it into the brackets on both sides of the door, locking it from the inside.
I noticed how cool and dark it was in here, as if I had walked into a cave. I turned, taking in the interior of the living farm for the first time. At that moment, I had to repress a scream welling up in my throat.
***
Hundreds of imprisoned women both lined both sides of the barn. They were stacked one on top of another like prison cells. Wearing filthy, blood-stained rags, most of them looked silently down on us with dead, haunted eyes. I noticed the majority were in their twenties or thirties, but their eyes looked centuries old.
Along the back wall, an enormous pig lined the wall, positioned like Jesus on the cross. It stood as tall as the barn itself. Extra eyes covered its face, a dozen of them positioned all over its cheeks and forehead. From the top of its head, I saw white filaments rising up into the bell tower. Its many blood-red eyes focused on us, as still as death.
“Welcome,” it hissed. “Welcome!” Its limbs were chained to the wall. Enormous rusted links intertwined around its body, preventing Mr. Welcome from moving.
“Anna?!” Dmitri cried, looking around frantically. There was no one else here that I could see except for Mr. Welcome and all the hostages. “Anna, where are you?!”
“Don’t scream,” Pilip said in a tiny, fear-choked voice. “Please, don’t scream…”
But it was too late. As Dmitri’s last words faded, trapdoors built into the black floor of the barn sprung open. Dozens of mutated bears and pig-creatures crept out, their predatory eyes scanning us with hunger and anger.
***
“Fuck!” Dmitri cried, running back to the door at my side. Frantically, the three of us pulled the board up and dropped it to the fleshy floor with a clatter. As hisses and growls erupted all around us and the predators creeped forwards towards us in a semi-circle, the barn door flew open.
It was night now, the darkness creeping in like a descending curtain. No pig creatures awaited us on the other side, but something worse seemed to be creeping out of the forest.
I saw snakes the color of clotted blood slithering ahead. Each one was the size of a tractor-trailer, yet they made very little noise. An occasional hiss would rip its way through the air, but they hunted silently.
As I stood in the field in front of the barn, a no-man’s land of hellish proportions, the certainty of death fell over my heart like grasping skeletal hands. I looked down at the little boy sadly. He gave me a faint smile, even though his eyes were terrified.
“I think we’re fucked,” Dmitri whispered by my side. I only nodded.
***
But at that moment, I remembered the rules, and an idea came to me.
“Just stay still,” I said. “Don’t even breathe.” Pilip and Dmitri looked at me strangely, then recognition came over their eyes. Dmitri only nodded, and then we all played statue.
The predators from the barn were only thirty feet behind us by now, crouched down and hunting us like a cat with a mouse. Yet the snakes also closed in, their black, slitted eyes gleaming with a reptilian coldness. As the mutated bears and pig creatures leaned down to pounce, I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
I felt a sudden rush of air all around me. The snakes flitted forward in a blur, their massive jaws unhinging. Two fangs swiveled out like switchblades, fangs big enough to impale a police car. Drops of clear venom fell lazily from the ends.
Keeping my eyes closed, afraid to even breathe or blink, I listened as the sounds of tearing flesh and screaming animals resonated all around me. After about thirty seconds of this, everything went deathly silent.
***
I don’t know how long we stood there like statues, but eventually, someone touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes, unbelieving. Dmitri stared at me intently.
“They’re all gone,” he whispered. “All except Mr. Welcome. It’s now or never.” I nodded, and together, we moved into the farm.
The trapdoors still lay open. I could hear very faint sobbing coming from under the building. Dmitri was afraid to make a sound. Together, the three of us went down to investigate.
We found a dark basement covered in hay. Torture tools covered the walls: iron maidens, brazen bulls, crosses and an entire universe of whips, saws, grinders, pliers, razor-wire and other blood-stained tools of the trade. In the corner, we saw Anna, her hands tied to the wall. More rope bound her feet and legs. We ran forward. When Anna saw Dmitri, she collapsed into a nervous wreck.
“Oh my God, you came! Please, get me out of here, right now,” she whispered. “They’re coming. The ritual will start soon.” Without a word, we started cutting the ropes, freeing her quickly.
“We need to be as quiet as possible,” I told Anna. “We can all get out of here. Let’s go.”
***
As we ascended from the basement back to the main floor of the living farm, the repetitive, metallic voice of Mr. Welcome kept repeating the same insane mantra.
“Welcome,” it said. “Welcome!” Once the four of us were all together, however, it changed.
“Welcome, thieves,” it hissed, its voice deepening and turning into a demonic gurgle. “That is my breeder. You will have to find out what happens to thieves.” I could only imagine all those blood-stained tools in the basement, and I shuddered.
Mr. Welcome inhaled deeply, his massive, fleshy body ballooning. With a predatory roar, he ripped the chains out of the wall of the living building. Orange pus and dark, clotted blood dripped from the holes. The barn breathed faster and deeper, the broken walls vibrating and shimmering as new life and pain flowed into them.
Mr. Welcome started moving towards us like a grinding juggernaut, walking on two legs like some sort of pig god. His many lidless eyes never looked away from us. The frayed optic nerves leading to the bell tower broke with a sound like snapping rubber bands. Dmitri looked at me with great sadness in his eyes.
“Get away,” he whispered. “I’ll distract it. Just get Anna home, no matter what.” Before I could respond, he ran forwards towards the abomination, the small, useless knife raised in one hand.
Mr. Welcome saw him coming. He tried to swipe at Dmitri with a sharp, black hoove, but Dmitri ducked, running around the back of him. He gave a battle-cry and started stabbing the monster in the back of the leg, which probably hurt it about as much as a toothpick.
But it provided a distraction. This time, Mr. Welcome spun his whole body, falling back to all four legs to deal with this nuisance. He used his massive snout to smack Dmitri hard, sending him flying across the barn. He hit the wall with a bone-shattering thud.
Dmitri’s skin immediately started to blacken, as if he were being burned alive. His eyes melted out of his face as he screamed, clawing at the dying patches of necrotic tissue spreading across his body. Within a few seconds, his screams faded to agonized groans. He tried to crawl back towards us as he died.
“Run!” I screamed, grabbing Anna’s hand and forcing her to sprint by my side. Pilip was already one step ahead of us, frantically trying to reach the shelter of the forest. I heard the ground shake behind me as Mr. Welcome drew near, moving much faster than we could ever hope to go. I knew we would never make it.
“Keep going, no matter what!” I yelled at Pilip and Anna. They kept running, the animal instinct to survive now foremost in their minds. I had to suppress mine. I turned to face the creature, the evil pig god known as Mr. Welcome.
***
In hindsight, I don’t know if God or some divine power had interceded, but the bear mace was probably one of the few items that could have saved us at that moment. Mr. Welcome had many eyes, and now that he was running on all four paws, his face was within reach. As my heart palpitated wildly, I raised the bear mace and sprayed at his dozen eyes. He didn’t slow, and I had to jump to the side to keep from being trampled. The air whooshed past me as if a subway car had gone by.
But a moment later, Mr. Welcome gave a roar- and not one of anger and hunger. This was a roar of pain and uncertainty. Blinded, Mr. Welcome frantically started running in circles, knocking down huge swathes of trees. The ear-splitting racket as he pulled the forest apart crashed over the surrounding landscape. Without a moment of hesitation, I turned to follow Pilip and Anna back to the car.
We told the police about the barn and all the hostages, but they claimed they couldn’t find it, and we never heard anything more about it.
***
Looking back on the experience, I now know why Chernobyl is a restricted zone, and it isn’t just because of the radioactivity. There are some things that hide under the surface, after all- things that grow in the dark, rotted places where no eyes roam.