View Full Version : Black [M][IC] (S)
Black
One day, we were talking.
At first I thought she'd just put down the phone for a moment. But then I heard gasping – as if she could not breath. I heard a crash through the line, I think I called out but I cannot remember.
I hung up, I tried making calls to others in the area. Ambulance, friends, her sister – anyone else I knew. But no one would answer, I grew worried.
I checked the internet, I called the police. But I would not get an answer.
No one knew a thing.
~~~
Ivan was looking at his hands barely listening, he'd not been raised to listen. Or speak. The words were there in his mind ready and waiting but they would not come. Not until the right time.
The Mayor of the bunker, one John Cassidy, had gathered them together in a workroom. Held in hand was the message, the text was brief but the words were clear. Conversation about its contents had filled their underground home for well over a day - a rare occurrence.
Decades ago, longer than most could remember a group of scientists had developed a Virus. But hours before it was finally ready to be used something went wrong. Short messages arrived every few days but eventually they stopped. Nothing from the laboratory had been sent since. Until now, when a request been sent to them.
John spoke it to them once more.
"After long years of waiting, the Virus is ready to be used.
I'm sending this to the closest Bunker in hope that you'll send people to come activate it and finally free the world from the Alien.
If nothing is activated within a week a similar message will be sent to other Bunkers."
John let the words sink in for awhile before saying, "I am not sure who has sent this message but I am assured that it could have only come from the V-tech labs in the city."
Ivan gave John a look knowing he would be thinking something similar. Those few that had seen the inside of the laboratory spoke little about what they had seen. But they had been certain no one was alive.
"Previously whenever we sent someone to check out the computers, they had been locked out. However with the message a Password has been sent. It has been written down exactly as sent." He tapped a pile of papers on the table in front of him. "They are included within these documents, a map of the city and the labs - the route is shown in full. Another map of a route to the city, accurate enough, you should reach the outskirts of the city ruins before night. It would be wise to make camp there."
Ivan had checked over the path earlier, it seemed simple enough. He'd made trips to the other bunkers before staying several evenings outside at a time. But he collected a bundle of paper, he'd never been to the city.
"The dangers of the city are still very real, but I can't allow you to take more ammunition than these weapons already have loaded."
Before them all lay a stack of weapons and ammunition. Ivan already had a short knife his brother had given him but he reached to grab a black pistol as well.
"You've each either chosen to go, or have been suggested to go by others. I'll give you a few moments to think on this. No one is forcing you to go." He gave each of the five a look before taking a seat. "I'll give you some time to talk amongst yourselves for you won't be able to speak for sometime."
Ivan had known since when they first received the message that he was going. Nothing would change his mind now. But he looked to the others to see if they would change their minds. He didn't think any one, Ivan didn't know anyone them too well passed a name.
"I'm going," he said loud enough for them all to hear. His tone was pretty emotionless and he returned to looking at his hands. Ivan waited for the others, though he had not been raised to listen.
Wattz
07-18-2011, 06:08 PM
Iseul kept her eyes on the floor, though she listened with care. She couldn’t lie to herself; she was afraid of the upcoming silence, the isolation of language that humans clung to so tightly. She feared loneliness, silence, but most of all she feared death.
She wanted to be alive for her daughter, for her grandchildren, for the hope that everything would be different. Sparks of hope clung to her hands, but then memories of her husband arose from the ashes, letting the hope escape through her finger tips. Memories of his passing were always strong. He’d left for the surface on a mission, handpicked, just like these five. Here Iseul was, marching off to the very same fate.
But perhaps this mission would be different. Iseul could make different decisions, could help spark the hope that would fan into flames. The world could be a better place. Her child wouldn’t have to suffer.
”I’m going.” The meek one, Ivan, spoke first. His voice was surprisingly strong and devoid of emotion. Iseul was almost envious of his empty demeanor.
“Me too,” she said with a raise of her hand. “I’ll be going, too.”
She grabbed a shotgun and slung it over her shoulder, then grabbed a pistol that held ten shots. The shotgun was heavy and only contained two, but it was powerful. A potentially foolish mistake, but her husband had been quite fond of shotguns. Nothing would please her more than to see the Alien’s blood blast out of its skull, if given the chance.
Haley crouched, leaning against the back wall of the room. From the angle, she was unable to see past the small group to John’s face but for that she was glad. The scientists had been dead. All dead! The very information they were being given unnerved her – shivers down the spine made her hands tremble gently in her lap – but she wouldn’t let it put her off. She was just relieved not to be able to see the seriousness of John’s expression; she didn’t know if she wanted this to be real or not.
It was hope. But it felt wrong.
She used to sing when she was younger. She missed it – The harmony of melody and voice. She dared not let herself believe she might have a chance to experience it again outside these goddamned bunkers. She wanted to be able to talk without that nagging anxiety that the monsters had infiltrated their haven; that it was just a matter of time before a word underground was as deadly as it was above.
When the speech had finished, she stood silently and took her weapons. One gun, two knifes. They slotted into holsters she had worn in preparation. She always planned ahead. Always. Taking the items was her silent indication that she was joining them. There was no point voicing the fact. She stared at the weapons in hand… Sad… Silent.
The Shadow
07-24-2011, 01:54 AM
Iain stared at the wall behind the mayor as he read the letter. He couldn’t help but feel worried and wonder who had suggested him because he had definitely not volunteered and besides, he didn’t know anyone who would put enough faith in him to have him go and do something like this. He wasn’t exactly the best person for the job. Sure, he’d had a little fighting experience but was that really enough to recommend him for such an important task? He had never even left the bunker before, he had no idea what was up there and he didn’t exactly want to find out. All he had heard about ‘top-side’, as he liked to call it, were stories and rumours that came from people you wouldn’t exactly describe as trustworthy.
He wasn’t going. That was it; no one could change his mind. He was about to tell the mayor that there was no way he was going to the surface with people who might as well be strangers when three of them stood up.
“I’m going.”
“I’ll be going, too”
Iain watched as they walked over to the table on which the weapons lay and as they picked up the instruments of death. Their quick responses to the questions made him forget about all the thoughts about staying in the bunker and staying safe. He experienced a sudden moment of guilt, would he really sit here and wait while they were out there?
“Looks like you’ll have to put up with me too.”
His eyes lit up as he saw the assortment of weapons. He couldn’t lie, he found them fascinating, and seeing them here in front of him was sort of a dream of his. He picked up what he knew to be a Glock 17. He checked the gun over and slid out the magazine, it held ten rounds instead of the maximum of seventeen. It was obviously true that they were short on ammunition. After he was satisfied he picked up a waist holster and slid it on, putting the gun in. He quickly scanned the table before noticing a rather brutal looking blade. He smiled as he picked it up and slid it underneath the holster
I do not remember when they came to me. I was too much in grief.
They were a pair of men in black. They carried a sealed suitcase and told me to go with them. I understood it to be an order but in my state I would not go. They forced me into their truck.
It wasn't far to the central laboratory. V-Tech they called it before pushing me into my new home. I haven't left since.
They explained then what they wanted. They explained about the Alien. Something in my head changed then. I think. I was not resolute. But vengeful.
Other scientists surrounded me explaining what they knew already. They gave me Data sheets, information. What they had already developed. Samples of the Alien in heavy sealed containers.
We needed to find a way to combat the creature or be forced into a silent world.
We all knew we had not much time. A few months at best.
After Brenan had silently stood up and collected his own weapons the Mayor spoke again.
"Very well then, once you're out on the surface just follow the directions toward the city. If there is nothing there, return quickly do not idle in the city."
Ivan nodded but his thoughts were elsewhere.
~
Afterward they walked along a narrow passage toward toward a sealed room. At the entrance John opened up the door to let them passed. The following room offered no comfort, no seating, just a hard floor and plain walls. There was no glass on either of the doors. The only thing present in the room was a panel that read 0:00. Once they were all in John nodded once and closed the door - Sealing them tight within.
Ivan lent up against staring up toward the timer. If the others wanted to take this time to speak amongst themselves that was alright with him. But he didn't, he had better things to think about. Or worse depending on who else you asked.
After half a minute the screen switched over to read 2:00. It clicked down every second after that. 1:59, 1:58, 1:57...
2 minuted left until a single word could kill him. Ivan was drawn to the idea, almost wanting to say something. Though a bullet was quicker, he'd heard. For all of them.
But there was time for that later. Ivan was curious about the city.
He watched the timer click downward. Once it reached zero there would be a few moments that one could still speak but the time varied between each time. Perhaps he could play with fate, Ivan smiled and looked toward Iain. Perhaps he could explain why that young man was coming too.
Later.
Wattz
07-28-2011, 06:27 PM
Iseul felt her breath growing shorter and shorter as the countdown began. The abrasive red lights burned into her sight, following wherever she looked. She felt a growing obligation to speak up and say something before they’d all have to venture forth into the silent unknown, but she knew these just didn’t know the people very well. Iseul had the sneaking suspicion that, even if she had known them, she’d have nothing to say. If anything, she just wanted to hear her own words, if only for the comfort that she would still be capable of speaking.
“Good luck, everyone.” It was a hollow statement, but it was something. It lacked sincerity, though she honestly wished no ill will upon any of her team mates.
At long last. Zero. Iseul held her breath as if the opening door would steal it away. But it would all be worth it. All of this fear of silence was just a distraction for the real terror living on the surface. Iseul couldn’t let herself admit to that.
The Shadow
07-31-2011, 12:31 AM
Iain listened to their instructions. It seemed so simple, but would it really be as easy as that? He couldn’t help but think not. He already regretted his decision to go. Why couldn’t he just say no? He didn’t care if anyone felt any less about him for it, he was practically unknown in the bunker as it was, some might even congratulate him for being smart and not taking the risk. He shook his head; it was too late for that now so he might as well just forget about it and focus on the task at hand.
He followed the mayor, walking down the tight passage directly behind Ivan. He let his mind wander until they entered a room. It was devoid of any detail except for a digital clock which he focused his attention on as he leaned on the wall opposite it.
He looked around the small group as the door closed and the timer started. He glanced towards Ivan and then quickly away again when he saw that he was looking at him, he didn’t know why he did it, it was a typical reaction of his. He looked down at his feet and sighed, he should probably have used this time to talk, to get to know the people he was going to be risking his life with but no words came to him.
As the timer clicked downward Ivan watched the others in the small room, they seemed pretty calm but not overly inclined to speaking either. He glanced toward the timer once more.
0:20, 0:15....
Ivan turned his gaze toward Iain as the time clicked down to five seconds. He smiled and spoke, "Iain, you don't know me very well. But if you're wondering who volunteered you to come...." He let his voice trail away, he didn't need to say anything further. Then he was silent until the doors opened.
Iain lost all of the thoughts that had been going through his head just seconds before. He slid his knife out, suddenly enraged by Ivan’s nonchalance in the situation. He stepped forward, now holding the knife by his side, his hand shaking a little.
“Tell me wh-“
It was then the door opened. He stopped talking. He didn’t know if it was because of what they’d been told about being silent or if it was because just down that narrow passage, the outside world lay. He would get to see it for himself. He slid the knife back under the holster belt and stared down the small tunnel, almost completely forgetting what Ivan had just said.
She trembled as they left the room, eyeing the corridor walls suspiciously. They seemed cramped, inching closer whenever she glanced away. No… That was stupid, wasn’t it? Her nerves were merely getting to her. She hated every aspect of their underground home – The artificial lights would often flicker, puppeting the shadows to dance. It was enough to play tricks on anyone’s mind.
They entered the room; the walls were blank but at least there was space. Not much, not enough, but some. Like everyone else, her eyes were fixed upon the countdown. Two minutes until they were faced with the world again. They kept sending her out there but she never complained. No, she just glared when their backs were turned. Don’t speak and you’ll be safe from it. She had heard those words of apparent comfort, time and time before. It. That was enough to make her sneer. They referred to them as singular but Haley would not be fooled. No amount of facts or science could convince her that one creature was enough to terrify the entire of humanity. Hands brushed roughly over her weapons, checking each one was still there.
She needed to act casual, secure. She didn’t want anyone to see her anxiety.
“Good luck, everyone.”
“Oh, shut up bitch.” The words left her mouth before she could take them back, the vehemence in her mutter indubitable. It was surprising how hoarse her voice had grown; it had used to be so sweet when she was younger. Her eyes remained locked ahead. She dared not look at the others for fear of their judgement.
The clock clicked zero and her teeth clenched, preparing herself to take her first step towards their mission.
(20 min before)
Brendan was not the type to risk much. He kept all his items locked with an extra pad lock so no one could get to his stuff. Even with a gun. He couldn't change it about him. It was simply the way he was. He wasn't sure he'd ever really tried to change it for anyone. His need to be a hoarder may have been something of a small irratance to others if it wasn't for how greedy he was. He wanted everything no matter who it belonged to. He worked hard to gain items from others. He'd place bets on cocoraoch races. If he could find any rats that others hadn't eaten yet then he'd fight them against each other. He was athletic, very athletic for someone who'd spend years in a tiny bunker but all of those were a gift of his obsessive compulsive disorder.
Every single morning started with forty push ups, forty sit ups, five hundred calf presses and as many sit ups as he could do before he fell and cringed to the ground knowing there wasn't enough water or food for his muscle capacity to grow effectively leaving him thin, gaunt and dark as thought he'd been chiselled out of onix. Today had been no different, as soon as he'd woken up he'd completed his tasks even following the rest though the after process had been very different. Candace Ford, 23, lay with him stroking his naked body forming shapes out of the sweat lines on his naked body before wiping it off him.
Brennan sat up. "I'm needed."
"Of course you are." She said.
"I think they want me to go top side." he whispered.
"So what? I know you'll come back. We need water, food."
"It didn't seem that simple a mission. After all we could simply dig for water. I think its something bigger."
"I say again. So what? You'll come back. You're good with what you've got."
"Too bad people don't like me." He sighed. "they could get me killed. Most people know about my behaviours."
"yes, you are an unlikable kind of man,especially amongst the other men. Myself being case and point as I belong to another and you always take and never give. But no one is going to kill you for it. You trust Ivan don't you."
He stared at her, his head cocked to the side his eyes blank. "What if he doens't go?"
Brennan dropped his head to his knees, pressing his knees hard on his temple, his mind flashed to Candace's naked body and lingered there as he tried to picture her body fully from her toes to her ears. Then his mind turned to his weapons inventory. He had a tomahawk which he'd taken from a souvenir store which happened to be in great working condition and sharpened by Brennan, he has a high powered assault rifle with a grenade launcher as an attachment yet only 2 grenades and he was sure the other was a dud.
On the outside of his mind Candace stroked his hair patting softly and kissing his forehead.
--
Of course I'd said yes. of course I had. Of course I had. Why else was I in this tiny room room with these people? Why else did I have my weapons ready? Why else was I trying so hard not to shit my pants?
These were the thoughts that ran through his mind before he dropped to ground and pressed his knees against his head once again to play the scene over in his head. Two girls three men to try and save the world what a great idea. Logic would have dictated they send every and hope some of them made it, yes that would have been good. His mind work out as the words played over in his head.
“Good luck, everyone.”
He heard one of the women say. the lameness of the statement made him grin and raise up his head from his knees.
Quickly he heard the other reply. “Oh, shut up bitch.”
Brennan burst out laughing. He laughed louder than he'd ever laughed before knowing he'd get no chance on the outside world, he howled with laughter clutching his sides until they hurt. Finally as the rising lift drew to a stop calm fell over him and he made his way to his feet, giggling a little. He winked at the women who'd sworn before cocking his rifle and dropping it on his shoulder.
The doors opened.
Some people like to work above, with the animals. The herds we could keep alive. Or work in the fields.
It's a lonely job. But some do it.
Because.
I was told never to come into the labs without wearing a protective suit. Image after image I was shown of the dead, those who had spoken in the Alien's presence. I saw the images as my wife, each one.
Some had clawed at their throat in some attempt to clear whatever prevented breath. But their attempts more futile than gasping. But. The horror was the rest of the body.
Limb after limb. Covered in black death. Eaten away until nothing remained.
She was in every picture.
Perhaps he'd like the journey, Haley seemed alright. Ivan held his mouth but let a grin fill his face.
And Iain, would be nice to play with.
The morning light from outside hit his face. Sun, an enemy or friend of Ivan's, he hadn't been seen it for a year or more. He closed his eyes for a moment before walking toward the exit. He stopped beside Brennan, put his hand on the man's shoulder. A moment to say hello. Before walking up the corridor.
Was he pleased to see Brennan? Ivan had no idea, he didn't know if he cared enough to want the man dead.
Outside staring into the sun, he heard someone clap. Slowly he faced north along the path - a group waited for them. Friends, family, those that just wanted to seem them off. Afterward they would return to their days, whether on the surface or back in the bunker.
Nearby the field workers, with their grim faces and mouths almost stitched shut watched. Their eyes dark beads empty.
And there was his brother. Smiling. They embraced, they hated each other.
They both had knives, gifts from one another. Ivan would kill him now. But he wanted, needed, to see the city. So instead he smiled and gave his brother a pat on the back.
Ivan waited on the path, in case the others wanted to say goodbyes.
She hadn’t been looking for approval but it was nice to know she wasn’t to be kicked from the team for her behaviour. If anything, it had seemed to gain her acceptance. The man who had winked earned himself a look of disgust from her. She had heard things about Brendan – His reputation surpassed him in many aspects. If he thought her ready to jump into his bed, he would be surprised. She preferred the lock to the key after all. Chose the fish over the sausage. Batted for the other team. Euphemisms galore abound in her mind, she couldn’t prevent the smirk from covering up her annoyance. A mountain’s worth of alcohol would be needed before she might sway towards a different allegiance.
It was nice to see the sun again; she hated how it watched her but it gave an aura of safety, not threat. She was sure if it had the conscious ability to pick a side, it would ally with the humans. Then their problems might be solved. If only… If only.
She did not even glance towards the claps. Peripheral vision revealed the friends and family of those who had them. Not her – She didn’t want that kind of love. It required one to be affectionate and to desire affection in return. A baffling concept… Passing friendships she could grasp; they could induce laughter and allowed the sharing of ones goals and achievements. A chance to be whoever one wanted to be; to twist whatever mistakes one made into heroic efforts and downplay whatever tragedies darkened one’s day. When that relationship lingered… Honesty often arose. There was a necessity for commitment, for self-sacrifice and for self-improvement. She had never wished for anyone to change so she resented that it was always… always… expected of her.
Still, was now the time to dwell on such things? No. She walked over to Ivan, his farewell somewhat swift, and planted her feet firmly. Her gaze still led towards the sky as she waited impatiently for the others to say their goodbyes.
Wattz
08-11-2011, 10:43 PM
Iseul blushed and looked down at the ground, sighing deeply. Perhaps she was too soft for this crowd. She scratched her head and placed a hand on her hip, trying to look busy or otherwise non-phased. It wasn’t working. The boy’s laughter had made it even worse.
But then she looked up. Her daughter Jun was standing just on the other side of the glass. Her big brown eyes stared blankly as she waved at her mother, each finger rising lazily like a doll on puppet strings. Her youthful face was marred with a frightful twist of apathy and worry. The little girl held no hope for the future. Jun feared loneliness, she feared dying in the dark without her family by her side. Iseul wanted to badly to bring light to her daughter’s life.
”Fresh sunlight, Jun. Can you imagine?”
The girl smiled, but it was empty. “Yes mother. Sunlight. I can’t wait.”
Iseul grinned and waved back with vigor, though her chest felt heavy with fear. She mouthed the words Mommy loves you before stepping up next to Ivan and the others. It took all of Iseul's effort to tear her eyes away from her daughter before stepping off into the unknown.
The laughter stopped long before the doors opened but it was a laugh he was glad he'd had. He owed the Haley woman for that gift and winked at her to show his approval, she didn't return it, it appeared as though she were a brick wall, if he had his way he'd break that brick wall down and go after the other woman too, mother or otherwise a vagina was a vagina and therefore something to do between and during the silences. Despite her anger Brendan still felt he owed her for the laugh before the suicide mission. The laugh would make the silence more bearable.
It would also make his death, should it come, more fitting. It worked out in some ridiculous way he couldn't really understand. He could only guess that it was very much like getting an ice cream after coming last in a race. It was loser ice cream but it was better than nothing at all. Somehow that made allot of sense and made him feel little better about the mission at hand. He'd most likely have felt allot better had he actually remembered the taste of ice cream. Instead all that remained was the sensation it gave, most likely exaggerated by his imagination by now.
The group stepped outside, him walking out last. There were very few people who liked him in his home. It, he wasn't the likeable type and he'd come to terms with it so he hung back, leaning on his gun as he watched the people at work, wondering exactly what the group would do next. To his surprise Candace was there, she wasn't the only love interest there too. This wasn't good. That was an understatement, matchable only a by calling the ocean a really really really big puddle. Brendan shut his eyes and envisioned his time with Candace but quickly envisioned his time with the physically larger but more sexually exploitative Lorraine. It took a minute before he snapped out of it.
Grinning wide he extended his arms to Lorraine first Candace knew about Lorraine that wasn't so bad, what was bad was the somewhere around Lorraine's husband was nearby. this would have brought pause to any other man but it was most likely the last time he'd make it out alive. They embraced locking onto each other for a few seconds before Brendan pulled away. Very soon after he did Candace fell into his arms. He swore in his head a little at this. This was not how it was supposed to have played out. The need to sit down and play it all out in his head was temporarily held at bay when Candace appeared determined to pull his tongue of his mouth with hers. The moment passed. He wasn't thankful for it. It reduced the consolation he'd been given earlier. Where as he had something to die for before he had something to live for now. It made the gun at his side heavy, it made his backs heavy, his skin weak, his arms weak. He pushed Candace away, not daring to look at Lorraine.
Great, the others were waiting for him. He was a slow one. He sped up after them his hands off his gun but instead on his temples as quickly envisioned how the meeting was supposed to have gone over and over again in his head.
The Alien, it attacks without a sense of remorse - almost to the point that it has done something similar before. I think. I don't understand the tactic it employs.
First, a part breaks away from its 'body' entering into the mouth of the offender from their it fills the lungs. Easily killing any human.
It also spreads the black death across the limbs at the same time - to create a strong poison it sacrifices pieces of itself which after contact float away as black wisps. I just...
~
I watched someone die today.
And I almost said something in response.
Ivan stood on the path watching Iseul, her response unnatural to him something he couldn't comprehend.
He hoped this journey .... broke her.
The farewell's were quick for them all but Brendan, who was entangled between two different ladies. Ivan only watched and waited hoping to see one stab him in the back. Neither did, unfortunately, so Ivan gave a look toward Haley to see if the bitch wanted the job.
She was uninterested in the others. Ivan may have to do the job himself later - who ever said they were 'friends'.
All these thoughts of knives and stabbing made him want to antagonize Iain more, the other man's silent rage was almost infuriating. For a moment he sought to meet the other man's eyes before shrugging to say fuck it.
Ivan turned his back on the lot of them and began walking. The track was rough under his feet, it had overgrown with grass and plant life but the old concrete still remained intact.
Years ago the last of the vehicles had been crashed out in the fields, maybe six or seven. It had been an old truck, most others had been destroyed long ago but this had survived. Its end had taken three lives in the crash, and another who had screamed. Others may have hoped to use such means to travel but Ivan had been a passenger once. The noise had grated his ears.
Looking back from outside the ring of trees, tall trunks and huge foliage hid their home from sight. Along the path ran the beginning of the fields, some people already worked within. The aging concrete gave way to a maintained dirt track. It took less than an hour to pass through the cultivated lands and into the unknown.
Before long the land became wild with hills and greenery. The ancient road lead on and on in the same direction eventually meeting the highway made of bitumen. And onto the city.
~
Glowing red the clouds outlined the perfect structures of hallowed buildings from a lifetime ago. Massive ruins of a decimated city in front of the falling sun, in other words Ivan thought before turning away.
There it was and he turned away. Ivan was there, overlooking the place he'd dreamed years to see. But he was tired, a full day of walking was far more than he'd ever been used to.
Going in now would kill him. Going in at night almost mean certain death, anyway.
Ivan crouched down flicking the bag off his back, he searched around before pulling out a bit of paper and a pencil. He scribbled quickly.
"CAMP HERE, ENTER CITY TOMORROW, MAKE FIRE?"
He held the words up in the fading light so the other four could read. Ivan didn't care what they did. He was rather hopeful that someone would wander stupidly off into the damn city.
Ivan screwed the paper up afterward.
...known to eat the flesh of others....
Wattz
08-18-2011, 08:15 AM
Pressure formed around Iseul’s skin as she wandered at the foot of the carnage. Buildings that once stood tall were now wilted with the weight of time and destruction. The dying sun cast faint lines of gold around the shadows, around Iseul’s form. Every sound, every swaying branch in the wind sounded like danger, until she felt the nerves building beneath her fingernails. She scratched her arm with vigor: anything to remove the pent up energy.
Iseul nodded quickly as Ivan held up his note, bringing up a hand with redundant acknowledgement. She went about building the fire, eager to be a useful member of the team. As she did, her mind wandered again to the city. She wondered what it used to look like, a city of dreams, of hope….
No. She couldn’t keep thinking like this. Already, there was doubt about her being here. The others were younger, but more adept. Iseul felt like the mere wife of a previous explorer, petty vengeance and stupid dreams swirling around her head. She had the experience, most certainly, but maybe it wasn’t enough. Maybe another quality was required to survive in the wasteland.
It was a relief to finally have a fire crackling. The flames were comforting, a distraction away from the darkening sky. Iseul channeled her thoughts into its depths, but sometimes her eyes would flick towards her team mates. Every last one of them made her nervous, from the ever calculating Ivan to the biting and ambitious Haley. Things were looking grim, but how could they not? It was impossible – no – foolish to smile. It was momentary, but it had begun to bloom: there had never been a reason to be happy, not in this world.
Brendan felt frustrated. He'd seen quite a couple things that would have done nicely in his room. A fancy drawer shelf that looked to have once been attached to one hell of a drawer, most likely one of those fancy French ones. how fancy it really was would be an answered question for Brendan as he passed it there was a small hill of crushed rock covering everything around the wooden drawer. More frustration hit when they passed what looked like a pool of crushed glass.
Most certainly some poor bastard had gone for the beautiful glass wall design. Present day glass was as sturdy as steel, but more costly than gold slabs. No doubt the fools who'd bought it had not been able to hide from much when the attack came. He could only imagine that nice stuff the glass shards could have added up to. Good stuff to be stolen.
As the group moved on Brendan stopped twice, disappearing to take a piss while also looking for items to steal. So far he'd picked up a gold tooth from a bleached skull he'd had to crack out and a necklace. Both great additions to his stock. Yet, impractical but never the less valuable. One day the world would be fine again, the only thing of value will be gold and he'd have some.
The group set up camp with him, being atypically useless. He couldn't help himself there were simply too many things to sift through. He wasn't winning. Over and over again he'd go over the stuff in the building. There was another level to it. He wanted nothing more than to climb it but there was no way he was going to climb alone. His OCD wasn't that bad. Or rather it was, it was like was an itch on his back that would not go away, instead spreading to his hands making them twitch and his mind making his imagination run wild.
He started to climb but stopped, turning around and holding his gun close to calm himself. It wasn't working.
Same old… Same old.
Her boots made gentle thuds against the road, cushioned by the trampled corpses of plants and weeds alike. It was oddly relaxing to hear that sound, so regular, reliable. Whether the others slowed or hastened, she remained at the same pace – Thud. Thud. Thud. - taking comfort in the lull of a steady beat. She might have hummed along; an old love song floated through the back of her mind, used to lift her spirits in the olden days if only because the lyrics seemed a mockery of common sense. The world was too frightening for her in present days; even in the bunkers, the smallest noise from her lips made her want to cry in shame and terror. Her own footfalls seemed threatening now; the noise was chasing after her.
If only she could die in peace, she might be happy. May the Lord help them, she refused to die in silence.
She bathed in the light of the sun but she did not feel its warmth. Without hope, the Earth felt cold. They said that a man without faith was nothing and that was how she felt. So worthless that even her God had abandoned her. Fuck belief. Fuck religion. She kicked at a passing rock and cursed inside her mind.
She knew they would need to stop before the man even wrote upon his paper.
"CAMP HERE, ENTER CITY TOMORROW, MAKE FIRE?"
‘NO SHIT.’
She wrote back with a raised eyebrow; she was worried how inexperienced her team was if they had not worked such a thing out for themselves. The fire did not interest her but sleep did. A bedroll and a blanket made her nest; it did not look comfortable but rest would be scarce whilst she remained on the surface. The air itched at her skin; she gagged on it. Perhaps she should go back. She was not eager to dance to Hell with fools such as they.
The Shadow
08-31-2011, 05:01 PM
Iain walked near the others but occasionally drifting off to look at the odd upturned car or part of a destroyed building before rejoining the group just to go and repeat the process a few minutes later.
He watched as Ivan rummaged around in his bag for a minute before pulling out a pencil and paper as he scrawled down some words and held the paper up for the rest of them to see
"CAMP HERE, ENTER CITY TOMORROW, MAKE FIRE?"
Iain nodded at the question as he wondered why the thought of using paper and a pencil to communicate hadn’t come to him. Maybe because he hadn’t planned on communicating with the others in the first place, but it had quickly become apparent that if they didn’t ‘talk’ in someway the were going to die.
He decided instead of thinking about their possible death, he’d instead search around for anything that might aid them in any way. Brendan seemed to be doing something similar but it didn’t look as if he was getting very far, much like himself. After a few minutes of unfruitful searching he took a seat near the fire and stretched his hands out towards the heat, the flames flickering in his eyes that were growing sadder by the minute.
They had this way.
It killed the Alien but it wasn't what they wanted – not effective. They'd developed this gas that destroyed the parts it came into contact with. But it simply is not effective enough to combat the Alien.
Several bunkers are being built nearby, they are developing a system of locks that will employ this gas on entrance/exit. Killing any part that manages to flow into the underground chambers.
I am seeking to create a virus based from the data we have. Once the Alien is infected with the virus it should slowly destroy it
~~
Ivan stared at her words, promptly ripped the paper ball open once more. He scribbled fresh words underneath his first message.
"SHIT HERE? YOU CAN IF YOU WANT"
After a pause he added the words,
"BRENDAN MAY LIKE IT"
And he gestured to the man who'd been searching through roadside junk all day. Ivan smiled and shrugged before walking away. He didn't care whatever they did. He watched the city as the sun fell, almost there, one night to go. Then he would know, then Ivan would know what his brother had faced.
He sat by Iseul’s fire later, the flames flickered in his sight. Dancing over the old wood the fire send the smoke straight up without the wind to tug it away. Slowly he chewed on some of the cooked meat he'd brought. Haley was away trying to sleep, but Iseul and Iain were there nearby. A man who probable wanted to kill him and a woman who.... why the fuck was she here? He'd seem the way she was back before they left.
Angrily he searched for the pencil and paper in his pocket. His word's were less legible than his other scrawl:
"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE"
The words hung in his hands, so he threw the paper into the fire. Then Ivan stood up walked a few steps away.
He slept on his back staring toward the stars and black sky.
There was nothing more to his waking then a simple open of the eyes. Everything was a shade of grey waiting for the day to begin proper. So he waited patiently from his position atop the grass bed. When he rose the ashes of the burnt wood were all that remained from the night before. Ivan felt cold but it wasn't unpleasant. It almost wasn't there at all.
Ivan, thought, he may be happy that day had arrived.
~~
.... the Outsiders.... they survive....
.... as mongrels living....
.... surviving birth is rare....
.... they will die out....
.... injured above means death....
~
.... known to eat the flesh of others....
Brendan had yet to use a single sheet of paper the night before. He didn't know what to say and had spent way too much time focusing on the upper room. It was stupid and he'd fallen asleep against the wall staring up to the stairs of the upstairs room wanting to climb.
He blinked awake seeing day light shine down from his spot at the bottom of the stairs. It was morning. He jumped up energised but little more than a sense of duty. He had to exercise or everything would fall a fucking part. He'd die or lose everything he had, which was the same as dying at least that was what his slow beating heart told him as it threatened to stop beating if he considered doing anything else. Staring at the stairway he found opportunity dropping his gun at the bottom of the stairway but hiding this spare shells and grenades from the others he started to climb up on step then climb down quickly.
He went up to the second step then down quickly. Then the third, fourth, fifth sixth, Until he'd made it to the top. He was breathing heavy now by the time he made it to the bottom step. He head resting against the corner. He coughed and stood up to go again, he lost his balance half way and fell catching himself on the rail before dropping to his death, or at least that was what he pictured. He breathed heavy again, only it was starting to make a sound. Sweat dripped off his skin and he tripped coming down.
He dropped but nothing was tweaked or broken so he rested on his back, out of breath. He started with the push, his silence coughs of pain becoming less and less silent. Yet he didn't stop, he couldn't stop.
Wattz
09-13-2011, 09:13 PM
'YOU’RE GOING TO DIE'
Even with the paper burning in the fire, the image remained, haunting the air. Ivan was out of line, saying something as cruel as that. Or was it simply honest? Could it be true? No. She wouldn’t die. She would live, along with everyone else here. Iseul was grateful that he walked away, for staring at his face was becoming unbearable. A burning anger seemed to well up in her fist, wanting to show him otherwise. She would not die.
Iseul forced herself to lie down, consumed by a foreign hatred. It was a wonder that she managed to close her eyes at all. Even so, the foul letters remained burned in the back of her mind.
You’re going to die…
She opened her eyes. The sun was bright, the sky a hefty red. She stood up from the sandy ground, only to see that everyone was gone. They said they’d be back. Of course they’ll be back. But Iseul wasn’t sure if she wanted them to come back. Not with her husband at her side…
Her husband. But Se-Jin’s hand felt so natural inside of her own. Iseul looked up at him, his kind eyes, his awkward smile, his soothing voice. He was alive, of course! He always had been alive. How… ridiculous of her to think otherwise.
“How long do we have to wait?” Se-Jin’s words were like velvet dripping from his lips, ethereal and glowing.
“We should probably turn back.”
“Are you sure?”
Iseul waited for a moment before responding. “Yes. I’m sure. We can leave them to the junk on the road, they won’t mind.”
“Why would you say that?”
“What?”
“You’re gonna die too, after all.”
Iseul’s hand dropped away from Se-Jin’s. A sudden anger overtook her chest. A monster was pounding on her heart like a door, trying hard to escape. The echo of the beating was abrasive, far too loud. The couple looked at one another. Se-Jin’s eyes were empty, but he knew what it meant. The creature was coming. It loomed over him, staring deep into Iseul’s eyes. It didn’t twitch, it didn’t lunge, it merely stared. Iseul tried hard to stifle the beating in her chest, but it got louder, and louder, and every time the volume picked up, the creature’s head began to turn. Its bones cracked as the neck twisted all the way around, grinning deftly. But still, it would not move….
A scream was caught in her throat. It begged to escape, begged to release into the sky. But she caught it in her palm, biting her tongue, stifling it in any way she possibly could. Iseul sat up, breathing heavily, a cool sweat on her forehead. The fire was still burning, beating strong against her skin. Iseul was desperate to escape the heat, afraid that she’d burn up, disappear into the atmosphere like smoke. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve and looked up towards the horizon. She almost screamed… she almost screamed.
Haley watched the woman with lacking interest, head propped on elbows uncushioned by the bed roll from the hardness of the ground. Desperation for sleep did not guarantee such luck and the night she had seen between her sporadic naps had been uneventful until now. Watching the fire had grown dull after a few minutes – She hadn’t the imagination to keep herself entertained for long. Fanciful dreams would not keep them alive nor would it provide her with hope whilst so close to despair. Grabbing her pen and paper, she reluctantly pulled herself from her makeshift bed, sauntering nearer to the warmth of the fire. If she wished to sleep, perhaps she would need to bore herself into doing so. Conversation with Iseul would surely suffice.
Sitting in front of the woman, she took one look at her terrified face and began to scribble on her paper. A sad face; she showed Iseul. An arrow pointing towards his frown and then she twisted the paper on its head. It was an unsaid saying she had learnt on her previous trips – The drawn version of ‘Turn that frown, upside down.’
Screwing up the sheet of paper and throwing it into the fire, she wrote on a new piece,
‘CALM THE FUCK DOWN.’
A light smile formed on Iseul’s lips, though her hands still shook. It was a strange feeling coursing through her veins, a lethal mixture of anger, confusion, and fear. But Haley’s company was strangely calming, even if she did still hold resentment towards her. Perhaps Iseul just didn’t want to be alone. Besides, she had to admit, the little frowning face was strangely adorable, even under the circumstances.
Iseul hesitated as she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and placed the pencil to its surface. It took a moment before she finally figured out what to say, though she was anything but satisfied with the result. It almost seemed too simple, or even too telling. Haley must already think she was weak. What did this say about her, that she should be so shaken after…
‘SORRY. BAD DREAM. I’M CALM NOW, THANKS.’
Haley arched an eyebrow, trying not to look too condescending at the frivolity of it all. She would have laughed if such a feat were possible but she would not wish death upon herself for the sake of a mockery. Instead, she scratched her neck and pondered what to write. Written conversation always flowed slower than when spoken but at least it gave a chance for one to get the words correct.
‘IVAN’S FACE CAUSES BAD DREAMS.’
She grinned, rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes and selecting a new page,
‘IF U CAN’T SLEEP, I’LL STAY UP WITH U.'
Iseul smiled at the comment. It was genuinely difficult not to laugh, having to cover her mouth and swallow any giggles she had. Poor Ivan. Haley obviously had no shame in her comments. She was taken aback, however, when Haley offered to stay up with her. It didn’t seem to be in the girl’s nature. Then again, what did Iseul know about her? Absolutely nothing.
‘I WOULDN’T MIND.’ Iseul offered the scribble, genuinely grateful that Haley had offered. Iseul held no desire to sleep again, at least not tonight. She took the paper back towards herself before scribbling a last minute thought beneath the first.
‘CAN'T SLEEP?’
‘NEVER CAN UP HERE’
Haley’s reply was to the point but she accompanied it with a half-hearted shrug. The night’s sky was a strange sight for her, uncommon but not a stranger; she looked at it with a mixture of feelings. True, it was beautiful but the darkness hid so much. Anything could be watching from behind its veil. That thought alone kept her eyes from closing long but she could not share her paranoid tales with such a hopeful face.
‘SORRY FOR EARLIER. EASIER TO ACT TOUGH AROUND GUYS LIKE THEM.’
The three guys sharing the mission with them did not have the most pleasant of reputations after all. She gave them a glance of disdain before looking back to Iseul with the shadow of a smile.
'IT'S FINE. TOUGH OUT HERE, DUMB OF ME TO SAY.'
It was true. Iseul kept showing her vulnerability, something that was anything but useful.
'SHOULD TOUGHEN UP, ACT MORE LIKE YOU.'
Haley shook her head,
‘NO, MEN LIKE NICE GIRLS. JUST DON’T WANT MEN 2 LIKE ME.’
How peculiar. 'GOT SOMETHING AGAINST MEN OR JUST THESE ONES?'
Iseul was partially joking. Haley's apparent distaste for the others was strangely amusing, though Iseul wasn't sure if she blamed her. After all, they seemed rather ornery.
Tapping her pen thoughtfully against one knee, Haley replied,
‘HONESTLY. MEN ANNOY ME. WOULD RATHER THERE WERE NONE.’
'SEEMS EXTREME. WHO AM I TO JUDGE?'
Iseul had no qualms against men on a whole, but it seemed unfair to get too defensive about her position. She was sure that Haley had her reasons. Though there did seem to be a little voice in the back of Iseul's head, feeling defensive on her husband's behalf. She shook the feeling off, then scribbled another note, desperate to make sure there were no lulls in the conversation.
'SO WHY ARE YOU HERE?'
Question after question; it was a strain to Haley’s social skills but she did her best. Secluded in her life beneath the soil - no friends to call her own – it had been weeks since her last conversation... Months since one that spanned longer than a few minutes.
‘SOMEONE NEEDS TO.’
She flicked to a new page, heart sinking as she scrawled the words,
‘NOONE WILL MISS ME. U?’
'I HOPE SO.' Iseul wrote this with hesitation, forming each word painfully. She couldn't help but see Jun's apathetic face, looming over her like a spectre in a dark room. If Haley had no one to miss her, Iseul felt as if she couldn't say for sure.
'I HAVE A DAUGHTER.'
‘YOU WILL SEE HER AGAIN. PROMISE.’
A lie if ever there was one but who would judge her for it? They were doomed – Because of that, there was no point wasting time with tact and pleasantness. If this woman, Iseul, were to die, someone would need to be there for her daughter... At least, assuming there was no-one else already present to do such a thing…
‘WHAT HAPPENED TO HER FATHER?’
He's alive, she wanted to say. He's alive. I just saw him. Se-Jin was exactly the same as how he'd always been. But there was something strange about him, something morbid, something corrupt....
No. Iseul had to search for a moment to realize it was wrong. The dream had bled into her reality for a moment, but she knew from the bottom of her heart...
'DIED ON THE SURFACE.' Her hands shook to reveal the truth, but her face appeared strangely stoic. To speak of Se-Jin to a perfect stranger was strangely liberating, yet she felt so vulnerable all the same.
‘IM-‘
She went to write the typical ‘I’m sorry’ phrase but placed the pad on the ground instead, sentence unfinished. Her hand reached out to rest on the other woman’s, gripping softly to try and still their quivering. Stroking her thumb across the palm, she hoped her message of empathy was clear. It was not something she could relate to; her only serious partner had left for a man, not death. Was that better or worse? At least Iseul could say that he loved her to his final breath… Those unsaid words would be hurtful so she didn’t let her eyes convey them; instead, she repeated her unwritten apology a hundred times in her mind, waiting for the woman to finish shaking before she continued their conversation.
Iseul calmed down slowly, finding Haley's touch to be all too comforting. She'd never felt such compassion in this world, and her's even lacked words. She couldn't recognize it at the time, but the spark of hope seemed to bloom, deep down in her soul. The woman hung her head and pulled her hand away softly. A calm resonated through the atmosphere, releasing some of the tension of the cruel world.
'SORRY. THANK YOU.'
Haley smiled and took back her hand reluctantly, disappointed to find her first physical contact in years cut short so swiftly. God how she had missed the warmth of another person – It was unlike anything else. Sure, she had Patricia, her German Shepherd dog. Bless his heart, he was growing old though and his bark had grown hoarse over years of copying her silence. He would snuggle his thinning frame next to hers when things got cold, be at her side should she need defending but, try his best, he couldn’t be human. His love could only stretch so far in times of isolation. Her thoughts brought forth a question.
‘DO U GET LONELY?’
Iseul hated to admit it, but she always felt lonely, even with her daughter by her side. Jun was so distant, so cold. She rarely ever expressed any sort of love. But Iseul couldn't blame her. It was strange to her that the one thing everyone shared was loneliness. Shouldn't people be able to come together in times like these, to recognize that they all felt a similar melancholy?
'I THINK WE ALL DO, ESPECIALLY IN THESE TIMES.'
‘PERHAPS...’
A stab of resentment flickered across Haley’s mind,
‘AT LEAST U HAVE THESE MEN FOR COMFORT SHOULD U NEED IT.’
A sharp blush came to Iseul's cheeks, expressing both embarrassment and confusion.
'NO PLEASE, AFTER YOU.'
The sarcasm didn't seem to translate well on paper, so Iseul shrugged her shoulders in an exaggerated motion. Haley was just happy to see something from her that wasn’t wrapped up in a sugar coating. She would have laughed if she could; she hadn’t seen a woman blush over such a comment since she was a teenager! Lacking a voice, a cheeky grin had to suffice.
‘I DON’T SWING THAT WAY. THEYRE ALL URS.’
It turned out that her hidden bitterness didn’t translate well in the written word either so she wrote her feelings more bluntly, the smile faded as she scribbled the letters.
‘ILL STAY DOOMED TO MY LONLINESS.’
The tension was so strong she could almost breathe it in. Iseul took a little too long to think up a reply, and even then she was still not pleased with her next response.
'IT'S ALRIGHT. WON'T BE HERE FOREVER. UNTIL THEN, LET'S STICK TOGETHER.'
Haley looked shocked at the last comment before she realised Iseul didn’t mean it in the way she was hoping. God damn it, she needed to keep her mind out the gutter! Being locked up underground with men like Brendan was what had done it to her. Lack of sleep was twisting the most innocent of statements. Platonic relationships would have to suffice.
‘SURE... I LIKE YOU. AS A FRIEND.
BUT COME MORNING ILL RETURN TO BEING THE BITCH THAT MADE THEM LAUGH AT U.’
Iseul sighed inwardly and nodded her head.
'FAIR ENOUGH.' She brought out her right hand as if to shake Haley's, but then quickly brought it up to her mouth to stifle a yawn. Iseul picked her notepad back up and wrote a quick question.
'SLEEP?'
Haley nodded, excusing herself so she could retrieve her pack and bedroll. The air between them was a slight uneasy but it couldn’t be blamed; she was not the nicest of people and that was how she survived. Snuggling herself down again, she took the time to scribble one last thing on her paper,
‘SWEET DREAMS (:’
Once the message had been read, she ripped off the sheet and threw it into the fire. Sleep would not come easily for Haley but hopefully Iseul’s would be more peaceful now.
It still took a while for Iseul to fall asleep, but when she did it was delightfully dreamless. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a gray sky, and the absence of the fire was apparent by the refreshingly cool air. She sat up to see that Ivan was already awake, and Brendan appeared to be missing from the group. A light coughing met her ears, and she jumped. Had she been imagining things? Iseul certainly hoped so.
The Shadow
09-18-2011, 12:11 PM
Iain sat, still staring into the fire. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he saw shapes of people and things dancing in the fire, acting out a story of some sort. He watched, unmoving for at least ten minutes before the shapes withdrew back into the wood Iseul had managed to find. He looked up when he heard rustling to see that Ivan had produced another piece of paper. He managed to read the scribbled writing as it floated down to the fire where the shapes had been a minute or so ago.
“YOU'RE GOING TO DIE”
He shook his head in disgust, if that was supposed to be joke, it was just too far. It seemed Ivan was as much of a dick as he had first seemed. Sighing, Iain rolled out his bedroll and lay down, looking at the stars in all their glory as there were no lights to hinder their appearance to him. They were as beautiful as he had imagined, even more so, in fact. He slowly closed his eyes he drifted to thoughts of the sky above his head until gradually his breathing slowed and he drifted off to sleep.
The first thing Iain noticed when he awoke was a few pieces if paper around the site of the fire with more scattered in the remnants of it. He supposed some other members of the group had been talking during the night. The thought of the night before brought him to Ivan’s note, telling them of their impending demise. Suddenly angry about the whole affair, he fetched a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote
‘That note last night’ and in larger writing nearer the bottom of the paper
“WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM??”
He wasn’t sure if Ivan was awake or not but he stood beside him and kicked dirt onto him to get his attention
A shadow had fallen over him as he stared toward the sky, his rest disturbed with a face full of dirt. Ivan staggered to his feet catching sight of his disturber, Iain stood nearby before the nights fire. Angrily he snatched the paper from Iain.
He shook his head and nodded passed Iain, to the girl sitting nearby.
“LOOK AT HER - YOU KNOW WHAT'S IN THE CITY.”
"HOW CAN SHE SURVIVE AGAINST THOSE MONSTERS"
Iain’s hands trembled, he resisted the urge to shoot Ivan where he stood, though he was sure he wouldn’t be castigated, the others might not even mind.
He took the paper back and wrote on it again.
“OUR MORALE DOESN’T NEED TO BE ANY LOWER - LAY OFF IT”
He showed him the paper then scrunched it up and threw it at his head before walking away.
The paper bounced off Ivan's eye.
He gave an icy look at Iain's back before walking away himself. This wasn't over but right now all he wanted was the city.
Ivan wandered off to collect Brendan from the nearby building.
When the world fell, fifty years ago we had moved underground already. We had time to prepare, not long but enough. Across the oceans others weren't so lucky - millions, perhaps even billions of people dead before they knew it. There was little people could do. People could have survived but communications have been long dead.
Other bunkers like the one we live in surround us from all sides, communications are scarce and often without emotion. But they come.
Otherwise we are alone afraid of a faceless creature. Without hope.
Alone with the exception of the Outsiders.
~~~~~~
They had assembled together, Ivan himself stood at the edge nearby Brendan. Their shadows were long and pointed the way forward. The city, old and tired before them and the ruined road to lead them in.
Ivan took the first steps and his fingers drew toward the knife at his belt. His brother years ago had walked this same path. A quest for supplies, of things the bunker needed but couldn't get anywhere else. They were dangerous and rare; only happening when stock became low or desperation for certain items emerged.
Ten had set out that day, twice their number but only eight returned. Gordon died in the streets with half a dozen wounds, when the pain became to great he whispered the name of his wife to end it. Aleesha had been taken by two or three of them. Some of them say her clothing was soaked with blood but she would not scream. Supposedly they ate her.
His brother returned with a wounded leg and a gash to his chest, sometimes he limped but that was all he showed of that journey.
Ivan felt his heart pounding as they came closer, whether excitement or fear he couldn't tell. But he was there and he didn't care.
They left behind the open world gradually and as the morning wore on their shadows shortened. Soon they would be surrounded by structures and their shadows would no longer lead the way.
Moments of panic half a century old ran wild across their path, vehicles together in metallic carnage, store front glass smashed in all directions, rubble and litter everywhere.
And bodies of the dead.
Those that didn't move to the bunkers, or had already perished. The ones that spoke. For the most part.
Ivan walked along the road with the others, now his hand was on the black pistol too. He could feel the eyes on him, coming from all around. He couldn't see any of them but he knew they were there. He felt something in his spine, something his brother had never mentioned, suddenly the excitement had fled him. All that remained was a sense of dread.
His palms were sweaty clasping the knife and firearm and his eyes darted from building to building. Ivan was looking for a sign, one reading 'Roach Road' they needed to turn left there.
The V-Tech building was somewhere ahead, Ivan had checked the map before they entered but the building was a fair distance in. They could work out how to get there once closer.
The Outsiders would attack before then.
And Ivan for the first time since his brother had returned did not want that to happen.
~~~~~~~
We call them the Outsiders.
They stay above on the surface, they do not speak so the alien leaves them alone. As mongrels they live in the filthy streets, surviving off whatever they can eat - we don't know what they eat day to day.
They will eventually die out, surviving birth for them is rare.
To be injured above often means death, this is even more true for the cities where they dwell. They are silent and hide well, they fall upon any they can. They are fierce and savage, fighting with claws and teeth more often that anything else.
They are dangerous to us. They hate us. They attack us.
They are human too, they have never spoken and they survive in the cities.
They are known to eat the flesh of others.
Wattz
09-22-2011, 02:52 AM
The smell of the city manifested as soon as they came to the edge of it. Iseul had a hard time inhaling the death, and had an even harder time looking at it. Bodies were strewn about, and their silence was more apparent than their own. A fleeting, morbid thought flew through her head, about finding her husband amongst the tangle of flesh and blood. Iseul tapped the side of her face as if doing so would erase the idea.
She followed behind and watched her own shadow meld with the others of the group. Iseul scanned the remains of the city, deliberately avoiding the sight of the bodies as much as possible. The V-Tech building was out of sight, making their goal all the more daunting. Iseul was prepared to support the group, but her anxiety was slowly getting the better of her. She patted her side as if to double check that her gun was still there. Every footstep, every breath sounded like an Outsider.
No, this was no time to let fear get the better of preparation. Iseul forced her jumbled thoughts into order, recalling the map, fresh in her mind. What direction did they need to take again? Roach Street or Roach Way…
Roach Road. She saw it, somewhat off into the distance, a dingy little sign hanging off its hinges. Part of it was obscured by dust, but the word “Roac” could be plainly seen. Iseul moved ahead of the group and pointed towards it.
The buildings sheltered the rising sun from the view of the city, sparing pity on what could see more than enough horror already from its skyward post. It was a shame the light could reach the roads inside, forcing upon Haley the rugged gore she’d witnessed many times before. It was the same bodies as last time for the most part, the skeletons still torn of rotting flesh to feed them… She cut the thought short before she could remember. It was with a sickening wrench of the gut that she noticed some corpses moved from their previous positions. Hope that they would all come out alive died at that moment. After all, the only things to move the bodies would have been them.
She was prepared for that trembling apprehension, the one that came with every visit. The air felt heavy to breathe, choking her on her nerves. Where the buildings drawing near? Closer and closer… No… Concrete couldn’t move. It was with frenzied thoughts that she reminded herself of that. She flicked out a knife into her right hand, relishing the feel of something solid against her palm. Her tongue seemed coated in the taste of stale blood but it was only imagination playing tricks on her weaknesses
She had murdered once – Stab, slice, through the gut. Plunging the knife in time after time. Face-to-face with her attacker as red bubbled in his throat, dribbling into her own and pooling at the back of her mouth. She had been so shocked by its bitterness; she had forgotten her capability to spit it out. The taste was embedded into her memory now. A reminder for the death by her hand, of a person she could not bring herself to call human.
She moved to the front of the group with Ivan. Licking her lips to try rid herself of the sickening nostalgia; so sweet, so twisted. It was strange that it was only the threat of death that could make you feel so alive. She wanted to scream in the face of those monsters – Plural, not singular. She refused to believe the scientist’s bullshit! – and taunt them with a wish for death. Her lips twitched, wanting to whisper words that lusted for pain and finality.
Perhaps that was why she kept coming back the surface when they needed her. Better to die a hero than to live cursed by paranoia and a never-ending loneliness.
The Alien had moved closer.
Our estimates had it at about a week away, thousands of failed tests had filled the labs full despair. Yet, the other scientists continued to try and I attempted to study the Alien.
We ran the tests several times. We had something that worked. A room sealed full of it before inducing a small portion of the new gas, and the brave entered to speak.
The tests worked and we could talk whilst in the remaining black.
~
They evacuated everyone who didn't need to be at the labs, sent them to finished bunkers. The men in black and the core scientists remained. I continued my tests right up until we were a few hours away from launching.
We all had our doubts and fears, all similar.
But I had something I was calling the Seed.
.... he found himself sprawled out across the pavement, something pounding in his ear, eyes racing and mouth clamped shut hiding the shrill of fear that wanted to escape. Blood splashed in his path as he was sent downward and his body bruised with the fall. He tried to rise but the thing atop him was mammoth and unyielding to his will. It beat at him, clawed at him, ripped him apart as he lay underneath. It was savage, strong and wouldn't relent despite his silent struggles. A knife slash followed covering his hands red.
Ivan stabbed and stabbed, taking his growing anger out with each strike. Furious at the way he'd felt, and all the confusion was taken away as the Outsider died atop him.
His clothing was red as he dumped the body aside, he rolled over to hands and knees staring hatred at the ground. Ivan heaved himself to his feet, lurching in place feeling the aches under his skin. A goring wound coved his left shoulder where the creature had begun to gnaw at him. Clothing had shredded away to reveal his skin. Raked marks covered his face, his arms, his chest - sharpened nails had torn his skin apart.
But he was alive, unlike the mess at his feet.
Ivan had lost sight of the others since the attack had begun not long after they had turned onto Roach Road. He hadn't heard or seen the Outsider until after it had tackled him to the ground. As he lay dazed for a moment he noticed others rushing past him to the rest of the group.
There was no time to search for the others right now, before him stood another of them. They were completely naked covered in grime and dirt, their body was covered in small scars, scabs and open bleeding wounds. It's eyes hungered for him but held back after noticed the one at Ivan's feet.
Ivan circled about a step removing the body from his way. The Outsider lunged at him, it was quick and the forced nearly sent Ivan back to the street. He held his ground and shrugged away the man. He turned and slashed but that was dodged. A clawed hand swiped at Ivan's throat but he managed to catch the arm. The Outsider ducked in quick entangling itself with Ivan, he could feel it's ragged breath on his face as the wrestled together.
Somewhere, he lost his knife, and then they fell to the ground together.
She could have shouted a warning… Well, she could have should it not have been fatal to do so. By the time the Outsider was on top of Ivan, she was busy searching for others. Whenever they’d attacked before, it had been in packs. The third time she’d come to the surface, not anticipating others had cost them the lives of two comrades. Never the same mistake. It had almost corrupted her sanity the last time, stumbling across the fallen corpse of a team-mate who had foolishly thought it safe after they’d dealt with the first of them. The killer had seemed to take a fancy in chewing the eyeballs, the black liquid inside leaking from its lips and joining the streams of blood that spewed generously from its mouth. The group had been so inexperienced in comparison to the others she’d been with, only a handful of trips above between them all – No amount of briefings could have prepared them against their self-righteous arrogance.
‘I COULD TAKE ON FIVE OF THOSE BASTARDS AT ONCE’.
She remembered the note of one particular man. He had been the other to die in their ambush, taken down by just a lone Outsider with an unusually strong lust for flesh.
She had refused to go on top with anything but the best after that. Accepting this mission was simple proof that she wished to end it all. They’d been surprised when she agreed… and grateful, unreasonably so. Some of those back home had as little faith in their ragtag team as she did. If they wrote it down that she came to protect the weak, so be it. It was as good a fucking excuse as any.
They came. Humans that had lost what it meant to be so.
One was ahead of the rest. That was her target until the others caught up. As if she cared if it killed her.
Charging towards it, she avoided looking at its face, dreading the bestial hunger always present. Ducking slightly left, bent down, she got beyond its poor defence – Her right hand came up hard into its stomach, plunging the blade in its gut. Once, twice, thrice. Three strikes before its hand came down upon her back, renting bloody welts across her flesh. She could deal with their claws; it was their bites and thrashing arms that did the most damage. Sometimes she wondered if the thing before her knew how to fight with anything but an animal’s instincts.
It dug in with its nails, preventing her from drawing back so, utilising her minimal strength, she grabbed it by the thighs and tried to throw it off her backwards. Nails scrapped down to her tailbone before it lost grip. The air was chill against the wound. A brief glimpse at the oncoming horde and she had to turn her back on them. No time wasted. Her boot came down upon its neck, as many times as it was needed ‘til it loosened its futile attempts to tear at her calf. Thankfully, her boots reached high enough to offer some protection; it didn’t even make it to the skin before its windpipe collapsed.
Her back stung, agonisingly so. Her arms ached from lifting the creature over. Blood stained her front and shoes. Well… one down. She whipped around to face the others. Only a fuck load more to go.
The recovery period for his binge exercise routines was a killer. It took forever to his muscles to recover. They'd only started to heal to the point where regular motor function had returned when thier infallible leader did exactly that. Fall, mostly under the wieght of the outsider on top of him.
Somewhere inside of him a voice called for him to help out, run up to Ivan and knock the outsider off of him. The rest of his body didn't respond. It only lasted a moment but his brain had checked out. Gone on vacation and hadn't given his nerves a forwarding number.
Had it been up to him to save Ivan, Ivan would have been as dead as a door knob. It might have been more bearable had this been happening for the first time. This had happened before. Not here, not on this road.
But on one of the groups far longer runs, to further points, moving around the city's perimieter to avoid outsiders. A stupid choice if every there had been one. The surviors of that attack had run back after moving forwards for three days and had to run as fast as thier legs could carry them for three fucking days with the outsiders running after them. He'd been marked in high regard after surviving the mission along with a couple others but in truth they had all been cowards, leaving the straglers to be ripped apart.
And now the carnage at his feet added with the threat of death bearing down at him at high speed, he did what he'd done before.
He fled.
Though his muscles ached his fear overrode the pain and years of constant OCD forced excersice pushed him body to move at hihg speed, even wiht all he had collected including his weapons. It dind't take long before hewas completely out of sight. Only he wasn't alone two of the outsiders had chosen him as thier next meal and were bearing down on him with an incredibly tall, pale one actually catching up to him.
Brendan reached a high wall jumped and kicked off of it just was the outside hit him. They crashed into each other and Brendan managed to roll on top where he connected the back of his riflle to the Outsider's forehead, hitting over and over again, long after the outsider had stopped moving. There ws a sharp pain in his neck when jagged teeth sunk into neck, he was pulled off his feet backwards. It took alll he had not to scream when he twisted out of the mans' grip and swung the rifle, cathcing the outisder in the chin. He mounted this one tooo and started butting him over and over again until the only one moving around them was him.
He'd done it! He was alive! He was Alive. He unfortunately appeared to be lost too.
Fuck
The Shadow
10-14-2011, 09:39 PM
Iain held the shriek of pain terror back just before it escaped his lips as his head hit the concrete. The outsider on top of him heavily outmatched him in terms of speed and strength; he easily would have clubbed him to death if he hadn’t drawn his knuckle sword as quickly as he did. He stabbed it what must have been six times in the stomach before it fell off and writhed on the floor. He ran past the others that had gathered around him, ready to pounce, narrowly escaping their groping hands and gnarling teeth. He turned around when he got to a wall and saw that two had followed him, he brought his knife to his chest in a defence-like stance that he hoped would protect him when he remembered his gun. He brought it shakily out of its holster and rested his wrist on the one that was holding the sword. Ten bullets, that’s all he had. He closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger as one jumped.
He opened his eyes to see that he hadn’t been ripped to shreds. There was an outsider lying on the floor breathing heavily. There was a jagged hole in its ribs with a steady stream of blood pouring from it which was pooling around it. He walked over to the outsider, its ragged breathing filling his ears. He kneeled down beside it and put his knife to its throat. Whether it had attacked him or not, he couldn’t leave it like this. He slit its throat and sat back against the wall and put his head in his hands. The other outsider had run away when the bullet had been shot but was now attacking the others, but Iain paid no mind to it or them. He never thought taking a life, be it human or not, would be so hard. He closed his eyes and tried to push it from his mind as the struggle continued only a few metres away.
Wattz
10-20-2011, 03:43 AM
Iseul would have screamed out at Brendan for running, if it weren’t for the obvious. Coward. Only a coward would run from his duties.
Not that Iseul was doing much better. She found herself shaking right down to the roots, digging her feet in to maintain her ground. Surprisingly, she hid her trepidations well. But right about now, a knife sounded like a pretty damn good idea.
Unfortunately, she didn't take one with. Stupid, stupid, fucking stupid.
Luckily, Ivan had just dropped his.
She wasted no time in retrieving the weapon, if only to save Ivan. She thrust the blade into the Outsider on top of Ivan twice in the back, blood gushing out with each jab. The animal arched in pain with heinous shrieks, momentarily distracted by the attack. But just at that moment, a second one came barreling towards her at full force, flinging her into the wall of a crumbling building.
The force was more than enough to make a dent in the structure, and the Outsider had her good and pinned, Ivan’s knife still in her hand. Up close, a molding stench poured out from its open wounds and jagged teeth. Having the monster pinned so close, tearing up her arms with its nails, brought strange memories of Se-Jin telling stories of these beasts. Only now did his stories make sense, but even then simple words were nothing compared to the pain of looking at living, breathing, human decay.
Iseul cried out at the strong stinging in her arms. The Outsider was far skinnier than herself, but it was unrelenting, reckless, willing to do anything for flesh. Iseul struggled to free the arm with the knife from its grasp, ripping it free. She aimed for the skinny neck, plunging the blade in so far it came out the other side. The Outsider gurgled in its own blood, a spray erupting as Iseul retracted the weapon. It fell to the ground, twitching and writhing up until its death. Her left hand shook, the death ricocheting in her fingertips, her shoulder, her heart. She breathed sharply and looked over her shoulder, Outsiders still attacking in waves.
Ivan struggled underneath the weight; more blood began to soak him. Then he heard the shrieks from the savage on top of him. Fuck, fuck, fuck, his thoughts ran wild and he scrambled away pushing off the Outsider who began to roll about in agony. On his hands and knees he watched with moisture dwelling at the fringes of his eyes. The screams echoed in his head, a sound from another time, one not for a silent world.
Blackness began to form around one of the savage’s arms, like mist it wafted away and faded into the world quickly. The Outsider gagged and clawed at its own throat trying to draw breath, it's back arched and legs flailed. It gasped and gasped as Ivan watched on. Ivan saw the wildness in its eyes; it looked toward him pleading. Its fingers were bloody, throat not much better but it still couldn't breath.
Ivan saw the black mist coming of its arms. He watched the black spread to the Outsider's arms, the outside skin dying rapidly. The muscle and bones would do the same. The mist continued to rise. Ivan leant back feeling his hands shake at the sight of this death.
The world around him was no more, the battles gone. Just him, a dying man, and that fucking Alien. This was not how things were meant to be, out here, his thoughts raged. The world was not meant to be silent. Fuck it, he would find that weapon, kill the Alien.
The Outsider gave one more shudder before death took him. The black mist stopped.
Ivan rose and stared about. He was still shocked but anger had arisen… Ivan still stood near Haley but they were slowly being surrounded - there was a lot more of the enemy gathering from what he could tell. Of Brendan there was nothing to be seen so no help there, fuck. Iain was standing by a wall not helping much, fuck.
Iseul was over by Iain staring about wide-eyed; the bitch had his knife. The one his brother had given him. His hands began to shake with anger again. But there was nothing for him to do, standing in the middle of the street being surrounded.
One came for him, leaping over the dead savage without a glance. It clawed with thrashing arms, one slashing Ivan's check. Ivan's neck snapped to the side and he stumbled backward. His eyes held fury awaiting another attack. But it held back.
He allowed himself to raise a hand to his cheek, it stung and his fingers came away sticky. Ivan glanced to Haley; they were close now. There wasn't any chance of them coming out alive if they didn't help each other, Ivan thought, fuck he hated working with people. Haley agreed with him more than he’d ever know.
She flicked out her second knife, the cool of the blade held careful in her fingers. Without looking, she held it out, handle-first, within his reach. The monsters held still, watching the weapon with the eyes. Their entire stance seemed rigid, like a string pulled tense, just waiting to snap – What seemed like hours was mere seconds of peace, a taunt to the anger welling inside her.
The knife hung in the air between them, it took Ivan a moment to take it and once his hand felt the handle he paused. It was for perhaps a second but enough to say thanks. Ivan didn't look to Haley's face, that would be far too intimate for him in that moment. Once his arm lowered to his side once more they were descended upon.
There hadn't been any signal between those that surrounded them, none that Ivan saw, but in a second five came upon them. Haley's knife felt small in his hand then with one coming on his left another straight in front. He lost sight of the others.
He slashed at the one in front of him, it jumped back, giving him and Haley another moment to deal with others. Not a moment Ivan had, something crunched into his side, he was tackled but managed to keep his feet. The thing raked at his back and tried to bite his shoulder but he was saved mostly by the shirt. He stared hatefully at it trying to wriggle free before its weight crushed him into Haley.
The woman was having troubles of her own, enough that she didn’t even care to notice Ivan’s struggle. Two were focused solely upon her, fighting between themselves as much as with her in an attempt to get first bite of her flesh. In a second that they were distracted, she lunged her knife towards the face of the one on the left, digging into the soft spot just next to the eyeball and twisting sharply. Blood splayed over her – she had to lift up an arm to avoid it getting in her eyes – but the unharmed Outsider hissed away from his crimson-fountain of a comrade, distracted from her temporarily.
Ivan rammed the knife into the bastard's neck, it dug deep and he yanked back. He didn't bother with a pause, the thing was stunned so he slammed his elbow into it's gut. He stabbed again coming back with bloody hand. Ivan shrugged himself loose. Furious he turned back, one of the Outsiders had darted back and was eyeing Haley. Ivan sneered, rose a leg and stomped down on the back of it's knee. He, then had problems of his own once more. A meaty fist crunching into his cheek.
Haley watched the Outsider before her stumble, one of its legs buckling beneath it. As she’d been trained to do, she moved with lightening reflex, adrenaline pumping her forward with a speed her usual self would consider impossible. Her leap in response time sapped her accuracy however. With seconds to spare, she couldn’t think quick enough to aim for a specific body part. Her blade ended up logged between its ribs, causing it to howl silently in pain and claw mercilessly at her skin. A few more stabs and it fell to the floor, loss of blood weakening its muscles. It wasn’t dead but it was wounded enough that it posed less of a threat than the others did.
Spinning around and viewing the rest of the scene, her body reacted before she thought to control it. Her eyes saw an Outsider aiming a second punch towards Ivan’s face, only half-a-metre away from where she stood. In the next moment, there was a knife sticking out of its cheek. It twitched and gurgled but didn’t fall. Her hands, she realised, were empty.
Her legs tried to move her forward, to retrieve the only weapon she had of use in such overwhelming combat but her left foot stayed rooted in place. Confusion flickered in the brief moment before pain erupted up her calf. Her body froze from shock as, on the ground, the Outsider she’d chosen to ignore tore furiously into her leg muscles with teeth already stained from blood.
Ivan spat out a tooth and some blood, his whole face ached and drooped and he wanted to fall. His shoulder started to throb and the bite to his neck began started to sting. Dazed he turned back expecting to see a craw descending upon him or a mouth about to bit off his face. But he saw Haley's knife in it's cheek, Haley herself there and the Outsider on the ground.
She fell to the ground within moments, dragged down by the monster’s powerful jaw and unable to do anything more than thump her fists weakly against the top of his head.
Crazy women had probably just saved his life, now he owed her two knives. Ivan looked at knife-cheek and decided he could wait. Ivan had never been good at firing a gun, he'd done it once or twice. But he was too far away to help in any other way. His hands shook as he reached for his pistol; he sighted up the Outsider on the ground gnawing at Haley's leg. He fired a shot.
Her eyes bulged and she gagged on her pain, trying to bite the concrete. Her teeth scrapped along the ground in her twisted alternative to screaming; her gums bled from the trauma of it. The bullet ripped through the tendons just above where the monster was making its attack, renting a path that damaged the entirety of the knee joint. Within the blink of an eye, it had exited her and lodged itself with the neck of her Outsider attacker. Summoning her waning strength, she lifted her unharmed leg and brought it down upon its neck, crushing whatever structure was left.
Ivan stared at the scene he'd created. Fuck. Frustrated he turned back away, there was the Outsider stumbling toward him with its blood pouring down it's face. It was sluggish so Ivan had time to shove away his damned pistol and grip the knifes hilt. He wrenched it free and smashed the handle into it's eyes. There were a few more around but Ivan managed to stagger across to the fallen Haley without harm. He dropped a knife beside her, running the hand through his hair mixing the blood with hair. Bullet had ripped apart her knee, fuck, he leant down beside her face. Hesitantly he pulled the pistol back, he waved it before her, not sure if she could see him properly. He rose his hand, indicated four bullets remained. He placed the weapon in her hands, hoping she didn't shoot him in the back.
She resisted the urge to pistol whip him around the face. Painfully shifting herself into a shooting position, she took the weapon from him and roughly wiped the sweat from her forehead. Every breath came out as a grunt, her body fighting against the blood it was loosing every minute. She didn’t even think about refusing the gun; recent evidence proved she was a better shot than he was, even in her wounded state.
Preparing to shoot, she took aim, using the ground to increase the accuracy of her shots. One shot rang out through the area, piercing the shoulder of an Outsider to the front-left of them. There weren’t many left around the duo and ammo was sparse – She was reluctant to waste the bullets so readily. With her so badly wounded, however, they needed to get ready of the enemy as swiftly as possible.
I had to act, had to stop the launch of the Virus.
The Alien is a single ever expanding entity, and rapidly grows filling every available place it can find. Within every few miles, the Alien implants a part of itself into the atmosphere, a young immature thing. The Seed, and it was immune to the Virus.
Whenever the Alien expands far enough it creates one of these. Perhaps as a safe guard in case itself is killed. I don't know, but I think it will return if we kill the Alien now. And we'd be right back here.
No one listened to my fears.
~~
Ivan collected both knifes once more and stood up quick, he allowed his surprise to show once she couldn't see his face. She hadn't shot him in return yet. But there was no time to dwell on it.
An Outsider had been creeping up as Ivan huddled next to Haley. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure none could be able to harm her. Ivan frowned, suddenly conflicted by his thoughts.... they didn't seem right to him.
The creeper didn't allow him to dwell, jumping the gap between them. Ivan slashed something then to no effect. The Outsider kept coming, grasping at is skin. They wrested together with Ivan barely managing to keep away teeth that bit the air between them
Wattz
11-03-2011, 04:09 AM
Iseul had to force herself into a blind rage to even remotely do damage. It’s funny how hard they train you to have a clear level head, how to fight and keep about the waves, but being in the fight made her shaky, nervous. There was no room for that shit, no time. Ivan and Haley were in the thick of it, landing hits and slashing flesh like second nature, though not without consequences.
Iseul kept Ivan’s knife in her hands, and thankfully so. She struggled greatly with each encounter, second guessing her moves and jabbing without skill, but she managed. The Outsider landed terrible blows to her, spraining her ankle, puncturing her shoulder. One even managed to grab a chunk of hair, the blood flowing down her neck freely. The more she fought, the more she forced herself to not think, and it made all the difference.
When the shot rang out, Iseul turned to see Haley on the ground, biting concrete like an animal. Big mistake. It gave an Outsider the chance to pin her to the ground, the knife slipping from her grasp in the process. It bit her shoulder, and she almost screamed out, but struggled vigorously against its crushing weight. While ripping the thing’s teeth off her, she reached out for the knife, her hand almost getting stepped on by another Outsider. But she managed to get a hold on it, and when she did she plunged it into the monster’s shoulder, giving her enough time to toss it off. She bled profusely and felt herself getting dizzy. It could have ripped her throat out if given enough time.
She was about to run to Haley and sink to her knees when she saw Ivan struggling with another one, wrestling madly. Iseul rushed over and grabbed the thing’s neck while it was distracted, craning it away from Ivan’s face. She cut deep into its throat, waves of blood flowing everywhere. Iseul tried to cut its entire head off, but she lacked the energy to do so. It fought for a surprisingly long time and then grew limp in her arms.
The temporary lull allowed her the time to slip Ivan’ dagger back into his hands, though she loathed doing so. God, did she wish she had just brought a fucking dagger along with. She didn’t have enough interest to stick around for Ivan as much as she did for Haley, and immediately turned back around to help her.
Iseul waved a hand in front of her friend’s face. She tried to smile as if reassuringly, but it was no use. She then tried to apply pressure to the wound on the woman’s leg, but at the same time looked about with paranoia.
Looking left, looking right there was nothing to tell him of exatly where he was. Under the circumstances he was stuck, not because there acutally were no markers telling him of where to go but because quite simply he didn't know what to look for. He'd never paid attention on any of his trips to the surface, developing a system of staring with blind eyes until moment or a piercing light would pull his attention.
That system always worked, it kept him alive and yet at that very moment it would most likely get him killed. Life had a spectacular way of going wrong. He wasn't stupid, he knew there was something wrong with his head. Poeple didn't run around the way he did, excercising the way he did. Doing it until he was at death's door. People didn't just do that.
Poeple didn't collect as many things as he did or fight as feircely as he did, it was't done and despite it all he was still alive. The very idea that things would change was impossible to accept. He needed to run and run fast but he literally had no idea of where to run. The complete and utter lack of direction brought any and all sense of movement to a sudden, crashing, halt.
He was frozen stuck, how far had he run to not see anything of before? The urge to scream filled him and he thrashed and swung wildly at nothing. Then calm hit him.
Right in front of him was the building. The hung up high in shattered nion lights, it was by far the tacky thing he had ever seen in his entire life, and from pre and post apocolytic images he'd seen but it was where he was supposed to be. Under the sign were two large sliding doors, cracked but otherwise intact al aruond were thick white walls with no choice at another entrance.
The howling winds of the silent world filled with death calmed for a moment and right behind him he heard the sound of crunching glass. Thick meaty outsider hands clamped on his neck but Brendan had already started swuning. The but of his gun smacked up agianst the outsider's temple and the outside leg go. Brendan turned to run but the man pulled his collar and pulled down.
He slipped and flopped on his back with a heavy crash. This outsider was strong, much stronger than the others. It clawed right for Brendan's eye but the butt Brandan's gun saved him from having his eye balls ripped out, but didn't save him from having his gun ripped out of his hands and thrown away.
Brendan had a single moment of freedom while his gun was tossed, he used it to pull out what ever he had that was heavy and smacked the outsiders had just as his eyes were about to ripped out.
He smacked once, twice, three times and managed to get back to his feet once again.
Brendan ran towards his gun which had been dropped right in front front doors of the building. The moment he picked it up he was ripped off the ground by the outisder who grabbed his hair and grabbed his groin, slamming him into the glass door which trembled violently spraying glass over the pair of them.
Brendan screamed, and yet nothing came out. The pain was too much, too severe to alow sound to escape despite not caring about the aliens. The outsider had him pins and his fingers scrapped down Brendan's face drawing lines of blood down his forehead to his eye lids. Brendan fell limp, the gun useless, the grenade slipping from his fingers and rolling away past the outsider.
The outsider opened his mouth and sunk his teeth slowly and deliberately into Brendan's shoulder, Brendan screamed and this time sound left but at the exact same moment the grenade blew covering all sound and rocketing both him and the outsider right through the window.
The Shadow
11-05-2011, 12:34 AM
After minutes wallowing in his own self pity he staggered to his feet. In order to survive out here, he had to be tougher. He holstered his gun then wiped his knife on his shirt before tucking it into the holster. He half jogged towards the others in the group; he’d heard a lot of yelling and a gunshot whilst sitting at the wall. He noticed a single outsider stalking up to the others. He took out his knife and ran up to it, plunging the knife into it’s flesh just below the shoulder.
He didn’t think of what he would do if that didn’t work in some way to hinder it which was a big mistake. The outsider turned around, completely unaffected by the knife sticking obnoxiously out of it’s back and jumped onto him, knocking him to the ground to the same position he was in a few minutes earlier except this time he didn’t have his knife. He threw a punch at the creature as it clawed at his chest, but this did nothing other than aggravate it and making it claw at his face. But he didn’t give up, he kept throwing punch after punch until he felt the outsider let up a little and managed to kick it off and stand up. He couldn’t see out of his right eye, it had been cut and bruised to uselessness. Hands shaking, he un-holstered his glock up and looked down the sight with his good eye and pulled the trigger again and again until he heard the click of an empty magazine.
I'm just an old man, a foolish old man. Made of fear and anger.
I avoided the launch of the virus. Their blood is on the walls, their bodies on the ground, I'm not strong enough to move them. I don't care.
All dead, those men in black, the other scientists. I don't remember why I did this. Why I shot them.
The bunkers don't know, awaiting the launch. I'll send messages for as long as I need to, the weapon needs work, I'll say.
They may come eventually but by then, I'll probably be dead. They will see what I did. What I've done.
I have set up an automated message that will be sent to the closest bunker with the password in fifty years. I'm the only one who knows the password now.
~~~
The Outsider was strong, it took all Ivan's strength to keep it's teeth away from his face. It thrashed in his grip biting the air between them. A spray of blood sprang from it's neck. But it managed to hold of for a few more agonising moments. Ivan breathed in and out heavily watching it slump to the ground dead. Where it stood before was Iseul clutching his knife still, she thrust it into his empty hands and rushed over toward Haley.
Ivan was stunned for a few moments looking down at the blade his brother had given him. His brother had come to the city once, said he'd killed twelve Outsiders then and brought back the knife to Ivan. He'd come back almost unscathed. They had only ever spoke once of it, their eyes never meeting so the lies could be believed more easily. Hatred had been strong for a long time between them starting with the deaths of their parents. But they didn't mention that.
Fuck his brother, made him come out here, made him fight. Made him know what fear was, made him understand. Fuck him. He didn't want this, he never wanted this. But it was all there was, the only truth there was. They were both cowards, wanting to hide and stay away from the truth.
His brother had come to the city, his group attacked by Outsiders. He'd hid as others fought and died. Ivan had known that all along. His brother was scared and Ivan wanted him dead because of it. Without that fear he wouldn't be here, wouldn't have risked his life to prove a point.
More gun shots brought him back to the world. Ivan managed to glimpse the remaining Outsiders fleeing back to the ruins. They wouldn't need to fight any longer, their next meal would be the dead all around them. Ivan stared at Iain, standing over the body head shot many times. If his brother had told the truth, perhaps Ivan would have never brought the young man to the city.
Ivan wanted to throw the knife away then. But he didn't, he thrust it into his belt. Somehow in the fight he'd lost his backpack but it was nearby so he went to collect it. Ivan ripped off his bloody shirt and pulled on a fresh one without bothering to bandage his wounds. None of the bites or scratches were bleeding too badly, but they did hurt. Inside the bag was also his papers and pencil, and a medical kit.
He staggered over to Iseul and Haley, setting the bag down near them he crouched and wrote a message:
“THANKS, MY KNIFE. SORRY I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND YESTERDAY”
Ivan left out that he still didn't. But she'd saved his life twice, he owed her something at least. He handed it to her and began scribbling once more:
“GOT BANDAGES FOR HER, MEDS – SHOULD BE ALRIGHT STILL”
Out of all the knowledge that had survived the time from before, the medical information was the most useful to those in the bunkers. They managed to create bandaged and medicine much easier than most things.
Ivan began to write once more.
"FUCK, I TRIED TO, FUCK-” Ivan paused and looked at Haley, he scribbled one last word, “SORRY”
It was inadequate to how he felt, but he didn't know what to write to Haley. He tore the message away and handed it toward her. Ivan looked away, he couldn't watch.
“BACK IN A MOMENT TO HELP”
He gave that to Iseul before rising to his feat. There was one more person he needed to see, to say something to, write some awkward message to. Try to fix something he'd created.
Iain stood away from them still, nearby the one he'd shot with gun still in hand. Ivan walked across to him. He hesitated a moment before raising his hand up to rest on the other man's shoulder. He hoped it was comforting.
Hours had passed with him laying unconscious, smothered by the broken body of the outsider who'd quite ironically saved his life. Had he been able to speak or hear above the high-pitched whine that screamed inside of his ears, promising him that he'd never receive another moment of silence within the confines of his mind ever again, he might have thanked the man.
The need to excercise started to build up inside of him. He'd just woken up, it was time to move. That was the way it worked and now the need to move followed fast and hard. It built up inside of him with such force that any other option did not exist.
Slowly he pushed the outsider off of him and started with the sit ups. He managed ten before his body gave out on him. The pain was severe, severe enough to limit his mental desire to finish his routine. Some thing had torn inside him with each press up. Something with no understanding of fair play that left him with a sick sensation not generally associated with exercise, even his ones.
The simple act of getting up was hard. He rolled to his side, spread his legs and managed to push up with his arms into a sitting up position. He slid his legs and, with a silent groan, he worked his way up hobbling all the way up to his feet where he hung waiting....he wasn't sure what he was waiting for and he hung there for a moment until he realised that it was his sense of balance that he was waiting for.
As soon as it arrive it dawned on him that the door was open. The bomb had done well, and access to the other world was open to him, but there was only one problem it was inside out. That was an insanely stupid thought lasted a second but was one that left him deeply embarrassed. Of course things weren't inside out, he was just looking at the doors from the inside of the room. How strong had the blast been? He didn't know? Was it an actual bomb or a concussion bomb, he didn't know. His range of knowledge on the difference was that one burned and the other didn't and he was not even sure on that.
It didn't matter, what mattered was that the outsider still wasn't moving and it mattered most that nothing else appeared to be moving too. Why weren't there other outsiders coming in after him? Time passed with him standing perfectly still, yet oddly enough in plain sight, waiting for outsiders to attack with no gun in his hands or tool of any other kind while feeling so fragile that if the wind were to blow into the lobby he'd be knocked to his feet and he'd shatter.
The breeze didn't throw him over, nothing came, the only thing that was there was the probing of his bones inside his body and the insane ringing in his ears.
With nothing coming he made his way deeper into the lobby crossing to wide double doors that reminded him of those swinging hospital doors, only, they weren't swinging they didn't move an inch. there was a keypad by the door but they'd been given all he required intel so entering the code wasn't an issue. The doors slid open and he entered before entering the code again so the doors would close behind him. He wasn't going to be caught from behind by some resourceful outsider. It wa then that it downed on his that he didn't have his gun on him. Looking back at the doors through a tiny round window. Mad eyes stared right back at him.
Dumb fear launched him off of his feet and Brendan squirmed on the ground before getting up. He was too sore and too torn up to face an outsider let alone run for one. And one outsider never stayed one outsider.
there was no chance he was going to fight his way out of there.
Fine, that was fine. He hadn't expected to make it half as far as he had now. If the finish line didn't have a way back home then....he didn't know, it didn't matter. He would not be a hero. No that wasn't what it was about. But it was about something, something grand and important even if it was just for him. Being better than everyone else. Being the one. Oddly enough that made allot more sense than 'helping the world' did, if he'd always felt his way he had no idea.
There was a long white hospital like passage with white electric doors running in irregular intervals. None so wide as the ones on the left wall. He started on the right wall where there were the most doors, looking in there was barely anything on note, wide flat desks, clear and of anything upon them. Looking deeper there were broken beakers. Some labs were different, dead animal parts blackened and solid as though moulded out of lava.
Moving on things didn't appear to get much more interesting. The whole floor was a waste of time and energy. Energy he did now had. Everything at that point hurt him, every little movement. With is condition he had to be used to pain. the puling of his muscles, the tearing of them the screaming pain, turning a woman's bad side leading to him being pounded with his own gun. The burning, the stinging, the number pain, the awkward pain that disallowed any and all movement for fear of being hurt, the pain of panic of seeing oneself hurt when he could not feel it. This was something different, it was as though everything inside of him was trembling burning as though on fire but falling apart as though it was made off ash. No mater what it got worse. Some how the idea of curling into a hole and dying grew inside of his mind. There was a sense of complete and utter inevitability in
every wince he gave. He was going to die here and he done enough to his body over the years to simply know it.
The white passage turned left only to stop on a dead-end with an elevator and a door opposite. Next to the elevator was a bright red map with a lay out of the science facility it was smaller than it looked either that are every room wa quite simply bigger than the map suggested, he didnt know he didn't have time to figure it out.
Main lab #1
This was what he was looking for. His fingers felt like they were turning to putty when he pressed the button on the elevator and yet the urge to scream out was not in the slightest bit higher that it had been any time before. Something was defiantly horriffically wrong with his hand.
He crossed into the elevator and it close behind him, trembling before drop. The sore wrestching pain vomiting as though acid had been poured down his throat hit him and he wretched and puked out thick blobs off blood on to the floor. That didn't make sense either. He'd vomited many times ins his life, with blood too once again something was wrong. The image, broken, dark and out of contrast came back of the cat crawling into a hole and dying.
Panic didn't hit him, instead peace washed over him in waves. This was his hole. If he were to die it would be right on this spot. The elevator stopped with a jerk strong enough to ensure he received the same reaction as the time before. When the retching stopped, he made his way to his feet and staggered out the passage which led to a straight line down to thee largest doors he'd ever seen in his life.
Slow Brendan slid, leaned down across the walls to those very doors to a keypad and typed in the code. The doors opened and the smell of death and decay forced regular vomit to burst up his throat.
He'd once seen a picture of Nasa's HQ before, Houston was what they'd called it in the books. This room reminded him of it. It was wide with the reverse amphi theatre design. Instead of the seats surrounding the stage the curve was set the opposite way and they had desks each with over a two dozen computers, running down seven levels. For a moment all Brendan could do was stare, it was truly impressive. What ever this was he was a part of it and it was huge. There must have been hundred of people working here. Unfortunately they were still there. It was a massacre, with much of the hardware victims of similar attacks of their own. Monitors smashed, shot right through. Blood turned black with time.
The death smell, the horror left Brendan speechless but not motionless. With his collar covering his face Brendan entered the room moving from Monitor to monitor where they were not dead. Power still course through the veins of this facility and despite the death most PC were just as alive as they had been they day they were last turn on. He stopped on the monitor nearest with life and in the center of the screen was the same information box as the others.
Each one asked for the codes to use the weapon or virus.
Brendan sat down and immediately passed out from the pain that struck him. To his surprise he woke up again. It seemed to be more than he could have asked for. Living longer was an option, living was not. He hands started flowing over the key board and a new information screen lit up.
I'm just an old man, a foolish old man. Made of fear and anger.
I avoided the launch of the virus. Their blood is on the walls, their bodies on the ground, I'm not strong enough to move them. I don't care.
All dead, those men in black, the other scientists. I don't remember why I did this. Why I shot them.
The bunkers don't know, awaiting the launch. I'll send messages for as long as I need to, the weapon needs work, I'll say.
They may come eventually but by then, I'll probably be dead. They will see what I did. What I've done.
I have set up an automated message that will be sent to the closest bunker with the password in fifty years. I'm the only one who knows the password now.
Brendan read on....
Moving through every message moving forwards then back.
I had to act, had to stop the launch of the Virus.
The Alien is a single ever expanding entity, and rapidly grows filling every available place it can find. Within every few miles, the Alien implants a part of itself into the atmosphere, a young immature thing. The Seed, and it was immune to the Virus.
Whenever the Alien expands far enough it creates one of these. Perhaps as a safe guard in case itself is killed. I don't know, but I think it will return if we kill the Alien now. And we'd be right back here.
No one listened to my fears.
He gaped, not entirely sure of exactly what was happening or what he was reading....
The Alien had moved closer.
Our estimates had it at about a week away, thousands of failed tests had filled the labs full despair. Yet, the other scientists continued to try and I attempted to study the Alien.
We ran the tests several times. We had something that worked. A room sealed full of it before inducing a small portion of the new gas, and the brave entered to speak.
The tests worked and we could talk whilst in the remaining black.
~
They evacuated everyone who didn't need to be at the labs, sent them to finished bunkers. The men in black and the core scientists remained. I continued my tests right up until we were a few hours away from launching.
We all had our doubts and fears, all similar.
But I had something I was calling the Seed.
This was all bullshit. He read forwards then read backwards again then stopped before he could read forards the ashes that made up his battered body were truly starting to crumble. The image of him in the elevator, his hole had turned black from the pain which had reduced his thoughts to dust. but the image was still there. It was like holding up the ashes of a wedding photo. It was his photo so he didn't need to see the picture to know it was there. He wanted to go back and die. But, the virus, it wouldn't work. He'd surmised that much. He'd left his hole. He'd yet to plant a seed in the women he'd slept with and now he was going to die without having done so. The one thing he wanted. To be better would mean nothing if the virus did not work and now he would never plant his seed. But the goddamn alien could. It's seed would survive while his would die along with him. All the agony, the impending death, the need to excercise despite it all and he had not shed a tear and yet now tears roll down his bloody cheeks.
He swore but no words came out. He was already there, he started typing.
Wattz
11-16-2011, 11:53 PM
The abrasive blast from the building sent a slight ringing through Iseul’s ears. Was it one of their own? God, she hoped not. Brendan was the only one not within the area. She began to regret thinking him a coward for running. Wouldn’t it have been more sane to avoid the Outsider’s altogether? Perhaps not. They come in uncontrollable hoards, and were incredibly persistant.
She had no time to waste. The papers Ivan passed to her were soaked with blood, but they were still legible. Iseul nodded vigorously as she read each one, her breath heavy and her movements shaky with the shock of the battle and the fear for Haley’s well-being. But she hadn’t expected an apology from Ivan, no. He was the last person in this group she’d expected one from. Was he afraid, too? He didn’t seem the type. Perhaps Iseul had forgotten than he too was merely human. They all were.
Grasping the medical supplies, she got to work as best as she could. Iseul quickly placed a bloodied hand on Ivan’s shoulder as he moved away in a panic, then looked into Haley’s eyes in what she hoped was a comforting way. The corpse of an Outsider was nearby, so she dragged it by the scruff of its neck and propped Haley’s leg on it to help the bleeding, and applied more pressure, making sure there was a visible exit wound before disinfecting the wound and tying Haley's knee up in bandages.
All the niceties in the world would not soothe Haley at that moment however. A double shot of morphine would perhaps be the only thing to soften the blow. That… or a quick strike around the head to knock her out. She tried her best – in all honesty, she did – not to glare at Ivan or growl at Iseul but it drained at the sapping remains of her willpower. There was a primal instinct bubbling within her to thrash her head against the concrete, to distract or numb her mind from the agony stabbing in her leg. She struggled to even understand the scribbled writing shoved in front her face.
When the bandages were secure, she forced herself to relax her jaw – she was hurting her head by gritting her teeth so roughly - and looked towards Iseul. With a hand still trembling from the pain, she did her best to mime writing, asking for a pen and paper on which to communicate with the other woman.
Iseul nodded with understanding, fumbling to retrieve her own notepad from deep within her pockets. She got some blood on them as she did so, but soon she'd stuffed them into Haley's hands. It was a good thing that Haley wasn't exuding her apparent anger more readily. It would do her no good to waste energy with rage. Then again, Iseul certainly wouldn't blame her.
Haley’s handwriting had grown far past its usual scrawl, the letters painfully scratched on the paper into lines that rippled and twisted awkwardly, the importance of clarity abandoned by a mind tortured with resentment.
‘CAN’T WALK.’
If there had been something she could have done – anything at all – that might have given her a sense of rebalancing the injustice, she would have done it within thinking of the consequences. She could have cried, wept for her loss, but the tears would only burn her eyes and like hell would she show weakness in front of those men. There might be use for her yet; there were still bullets left in Ivan’s gun and she would rather put faith in her own aim than those of the others.
Iseul's eyes were stuck on those words, hoping to god that she was wrong. they were almost to their destination. They were almost out of this disgusting mess, and a strange sort of rage built up in her chest. Haley could hold on, and Iseul would carry her the whole fucking way and back if she had to.
For now, she ignored the message. She popped open the bottle of pain killers and placed one in Haley's mouth, helping her swallow by massaging her neck. Iseul took the notepad from Haley, her hand visibly shaking as she wrote:
'YOU CAN MAKE IT. DON'T GIVE UP NOW. I'LL HELP YOU UP.'
Haley could only meet her message with a look that silently expressed ‘Are you an idiot?’ before she glanced back down towards her leg. It might have been a mistake to view her own mutilation but she wanted to force herself to be strong enough to face it. Her thigh was fine upon the surface, although she knew there to be damage beneath from the bullet’s shredding. She knew if she had to, she could move it, although the agony would be enough that she would be tempted to scream. It was that part of her leg that she could cope with seeing. Below the knee was what tortured her mind. With both gun and Outsider attack, the flesh was no longer recognisable. Every inch of skin appeared to be bleeding, the bone of her shin was prominent amongst the red. The bandages had helped slightly but even they would need to be changed within the hour. Wanting to cry, she tried to bend her knee but nothing happened.
Perhaps she was in too much pain to do so… perhaps. The realist in her knew it would be permanent.
One leg and no voice. What a world this was turning out to be.
She wrote fast. She didn’t want some bullshit about how she could manage on her own with the right attitude. Facts were facts; she couldn’t stand without support.
“ONE GOOD LEG. NEED HELP TO WALK.’
Still Iseul found herself wanting to believe in the positive. Still she found herself thinking Haley's leg would be perfectly fine once they were done with their task, once she'd been brought to real medics below the surface. But her common sense nagged hard at the back of her thoughts, and Iseul pushed hard to repress them. She'd never been good at facing the truth.
Iseul faltered, wiping the sweat and blood from her forehead before giving a timid nod, but first wrote, knowing it'd be hard to do so while supporting Haley.
'HEARD AN EXPLOSION OFF IN THE DISTANCE. I THINK WE SHOULD CHECK IT OUT, WAS NEAR THE MAIN BUILDING. COULD HAVE BEEN BRENDAN.'
Then she made sure the medicine and bandages were stuffed into her pockets before handing the pad back to Haley. She bent down to help the poor girl stand. Iseul draped the woman's arm over her shoulder, making sure she was ready to stand on her good leg before hoisting her up.
‘LET’S GO THEN.’
Haley wrote back before dropping the pad to the ground, favouring the ability to hold a gun over the chance to write. She still had her pen and paper within easy reach in her backpack, to use between the both of them, should they get the chance to stop again. For some reason, she doubted that they would. She stared at the paper, lying on the ground, stark white against the dark of the blood and tarmac. Those words might be the last another ever heard of her; they seemed less dramatic than she’d envisioned before.
She gritted her teeth and Iseul dragged her up. There would have been no painless way to do so but Haley still resented every bone in her team’s body as she stood. The feeling passed one she’d found her feet even if the pain did not.
After Brendan had finished typed and confirmed the launch a new message popped up on the screen before him:
If you receive this message than the Virus has been activated.
Outside the labs you will notice something black starting to cover the sky, I'm sorry. As the Alien dies it leaves behind its dead carcass. Something similar to a mist, it's deep and black.
It will block the sun from view over the entire planet. It will slowly fade, I don't know how long, maybe weeks, too hard to determine without.... the others.
Until then the world is completely Black.
~~
They had followed the path of the explosion for over an hour. It was slow with Iseul helping Haley to walk but somehow they managed to find themselves at the V-Tech building. Something had ripped the front reception area apart otherwise the area was calm. There was no body else around.
There was no sign of Brendan at all.
Ivan was leading their party toward the building, he held the knife in his hand. Might be some more fucking outsiders about, he'd reasoned. At first he didn't notice the change above the building, ignoring it as nothing remarkable. But it grew, become something in the sky. Filling the air above the V-Tech building was a growing.... darkness.
It was like a mist or a fog, it moved but it was slow and drifting. It was dense and it was expanding. The darkness was growing in an orb at the top of the building spreading out in all directions. To Ivan it looked like stuff that was floating away from the Outsider as the Alien killed its limbs. But increased in volume, leaving no time for it too dissipate.
It was coming toward them and would reach them in maybe a minute. Perhaps two at most.
His hands fell to his side as he stared at the growing black..... stuff in the air. Ivan frowned at it and thought.
Fuck. Off.
Back within the bunker, tucked beneath her bed into the furthest corner, lay a book. The pages were crinkled from overuse; the white stained brown through time and coffee spilt. Inside, the soft grey of graphite graced the page in curls and twists that formed writing far more pleasant than her personality. It was the diary of Haley Jones.
Its tale was one of torment and confusion, of a song that died before its final notes. Some told her that the last moments of a melody became its finest. The world was built so that such truth would never be heard; even sirens would be struck mute in a place like Earth.
On the first page began her tale, intent on details that made it seem a story wished to be shared one day. Words stay on where memories fail and emotions become twisted when remembered in retrospect. Perhaps she hoped to look back and gain an understanding of herself, to realise why her life became the way it did. Then again, it may have been a warning, for past mistakes become our most honest of guides.
---
Today marks the day that my mother first spoke about the Alien with me. Normally, she avoids the subject… although I’m sure she knows I have learnt about it from the others. I am an adult in her eyes now, although at eighteen years, I’ve never felt younger.
The strangest part was that she did not seem to be afraid. No… both my parents have grown tired. They accept their lifestyle without fighting for anything better.
Maybe it is foolish that I dream.
I find myself wondering what it would be like to sing under the sun. Why is it
that the two concepts remain separated by this one being?
The Alien. I question its power, its motive and I ask myself, ‘why?’.
---
Is it strange to wish for more excitement in one’s life?
We seem to have settled into our life down here and all I find myself asking is
for something – anything – to happen.
---
He…
I couldn’t…
It’s all my fault
---
I am late in relaying this news, I know.
The doctor called me back last month. He confirmed what I feared.
Weight gain, illness and lethargy. My mother, bless her ignorant soul, thought
it might have been an illness. I wish that God had allowed her to be right, just
this once.
He was not professional and that bothered me. Just because he’d known me previous to my examination did not give him right to comment.
“I didn’t think you were interested in men, eh, Haley?”
His words were not malicious – I had known that - yet I still hated him for it.
His laugh was so carefree. All I could do was shake my head in pitiful silence.
As I went to leave, he tried to pat me on the back; a gesture of an old friendship gone cold in adulthood. I had flinched away before I had time to
think.
He looked into my eyes and I knew… that he knew. Words of comfort went unspoken. He let me walk away.
At the time, I was grateful to be left in peace, hidden from the prying minds
of those clinical psychologists. Looking back, even just a month, I wonder if his worried silence was a curse disguised instead.
I was not left in peace. I was left to rot in my pain.
---
Another entry one day after my last... I may be finally getting organised.
It is that or my life is getting more interesting. Regardless…
I never gave the bastard a name but… it has been dealt with.
My only regret is that I had to bruise more than my pride to do so.
---
I can’t…
Just…
---
She left.
I know that you, diary, do not know who ‘she’ is, but now, it does not matter.
I brought her down, criticised and never allowed judgement
to be passed on me. I was cold.
At first, my emotions focused around anger but, over the week, I understand where I was wrong. Never will I admit this to anyone but you, diary – The relationship could have been salvaged by three words that I refused to say.
Is it wrong that I justify my actions with everything that has happened to me?
I feel conflicted as to whether the excuse is genuine or nothing more than that,
an excuse.
Part of me hopes that he can give her what I didn’t.
The other part of me hopes his dick catches fire.
No part of me blames her.
---
I saw her again today, diary. The same ‘her’ that I spoke to you of last.
She was crying.
Her father worked on the surface, I knew that much before. He fell and sliced his leg.
In that flash of pain, he cursed aloud.
I could not approach her for he was there too; no matter how I wanted to
hold her, to wipe the tears from her eyes…
I couldn’t.
Love was not something that I could give after what happened. Fleeting
smiles and biting comments were all I had to offer. My hands were not made to
soothe those pained but to inflict such agony instead.
I would see it killed… that goddamned Alien would suffer!
Then, I would kill myself.
---
I read back over my words last week. Honestly, my mind told me the feelings
of despair would fade.
They didn’t.
To myself, I promise that I will see those words through…
…for both me and for ‘her’.
…no matter how cliché the sentiment may seem.
---
If the world could have watched Haley from afar that day, seen her brown eyes reflecting a never-ending black, they would have seen both fear and acceptance flicker beneath the surface.
---
Sometimes I sit in the bath and will my heart to stop. It never works but that doesn’t stop me trying.
I am scared to die but I lust for it so anyway.
My last wish is that I don’t have to return to this loneliness.
I never want to see my father again. It would just remind me of ‘it’.
I know, diary, that such events were long ago. These few pages in you,
between now and then, represent almost a decade in real time.
Is it weakness, diary?
Why do I feel judged about wanting to die in a way that will lessen her hate
for me?
I did her so much wrong. I owe her this much.
---
Haley’s leg was ablaze in chilling agony; the loss of blood had her drained in both body and mind. Her grip tightened on Iseul’s back, clawing at her clothes in an effort to keep upright. It may have been the feebleness of her mind but the darkness in the sky seemed to dance.
---
My dreams have turned to nightmares.
I only wish to escape.
The walls are closing in, diary. The shadows advance.
I feel it coming for me, hunting me down…
…And I love it.
---
She knew that this was the end of their mission. Was this a success… or a failure? She wasn’t entirely sure on the details but it was certain that her actions had little part in the outcome. Would they even remember her name once she was dead? She was sure that they wouldn’t. She had done it all for nothing and lost her chance to gain everything.
Inner peace was beyond her grasp. She was grateful that death was not… not yet.
---
They’ve called me for a mission to the surface again. This time, it feels
different though.
I think it may be important.
Who would have thought I would ever ‘get my hopes up’ again?
Perhaps there is still life in these bones.
I managed to sneak a glance at the team going with me; three males,
one female.
Iseul Kyo. I knew the name, but not the face.
She is beautiful and I am merely envious.
If only… If only…
Iain Hunter. A stranger until this day.
He reminds me too much of ‘her’ new lover.
I would rather gouge out my tongue than speak to him.
Brendan. I don’t even need to say his last name.
His reputation exceeds him, for one good reason;
Rumours say he had his way with ‘her’ while she was mine.
Ivan Salter.
Well…he’s a cunt.
But I can deal with that.
Of the five of us, I am the oldest.
---
She would never be a hero now. Flitting fantasies of saving the world were wrenched from her reach mercilessly. She was a shell of the woman her mother had hoped she would be. It was too late to go back and tell herself to be stronger. So many chances ripped from her by the twisted nature of that night’s caress.
What had happened to forgetting of it? She had willed her mind to make it so and now… There was nothing else.
---
I’m going to save the world, diary.
I’m going to sing beneath the sun.
---
Such read the diary of Haley Jones.
Its tale was one of torment and confusion, of a song that died before its final notes. Some told her that the last moments of a melody became its finest. For her, this was not the case.
Tears began streaming in apprehension of the pain but she didn’t allow herself to sob just yet. Iseul was still warm beside her, holding her close. It was tempting to close her eyes and pretend the arm belonged to ‘her’ but that was just a dream she had lost hope for.
Her lips parted so softly in contrast to the woman they knew her as. She wished to meet Iseul’s eyes but there was too much shame in her weakness for that. Instead, a smile was allowed to form upon her battered face, albeit strained from what she knew would come. Her voice was still as hoarse as it was in the bunkers, so different from the sweetness of the gentle girl she used to be.
“Thank you.”
She lost touch of Iseul, pushing herself away; the ground seeming to disappear beneath her feet as she did so. The sky was dark but, to her blurry vision, it seemed like little more than storm clouds. Did people use to sing, even when it rained? she wondered. Some might say the blood loss had made her delirious, debating such frivolous matters in her time of peril. Others that knew Haley would know that no other final thoughts would fit her better.
Hands trembled in the air, resisting the urge to claw helplessly at her neck as she choked.
Peace. Give me peace.
What felt like an eternity of smothered torture was only seconds. She managed to glance towards the sky one last time –
the sun was blocked from view now –
before she faded away forever with the black.
When the Black came, we were out in the field. I had took out daughter out that day, I thought she was ready to enter the silent world. She wasn't scared but I was.
She was young but she'd matured much quicker than I did I think. Quicker to face the world we live in. That isn't a good thing.
It came, the Black, covering all we could see and reaching high into the sky. In a moment our tools were forgotten. We were running.
I heard her scream, I left her for death.
I can't meet his eyes, look him in the face. She shouldn't have been there. But. She was.
I want him to be angry, I don't want to see the understanding in his eyes.
Wattz
12-07-2011, 07:34 AM
Once upon a time, a man named Se-Jin went up to the surface and never came back, leaving behind a daughter who’d lost all hope and a wife who'd gained far too much. Her heart throbbed with love as it waited for a chance at picture-perfect vengeance and a sun that would melt the chill in her daughter’s heart. Once upon a time, nothing else mattered but the need to place a bullet right in the monster’s chest.
And even when they’d torn her apart for her optimism, she thought that everything could be made right. She thought the torn papers in the fire would blossom in the morning light to be spoken at last with vocal cords. She thought the skies would blaze to leave room for the friendship to grow. How unfortunate, that the voices of paradise should only unfold on the brink of death.
But Haley was slipping away. It seemed like they all were. Iseul could feel it in her hands, in her bones. But she didn’t want to let go yet, didn’t want to believe that it couldn’t be perfect for everyone. Haley could fight this, couldn’t she?
Couldn’t she?
She wondered what it had been like for her husband, dying in this silent world.
“No… no, no, no, please!” Iseul didn’t even realize she was speaking, that Haley herself had spoken. The woman’s words were surprisingly soft, nothing like the sharp tongue that had snapped back in the bunkers, hoarse as it was. Iseul held on to her friend for as long as she could before she’d pushed herself off. Still, Iseul held on.
Why was she still holding on?
Flashes of corpses before her eyes. The bodies of outsiders piling up to the ceiling, along with Haley’s y her side, with Brendan’s in the elevator, with Se-Jin’s and Jun’s….
Iseul had never been so aware of the mixed blood on her as she had been now. She fell to her knees and trembled as she blindly moved Haley’s body into a sleeping position, both arms beneath her head. She then turned away to the side and retched until her stomach had nothing left to give. For a moment she thought her heart had fallen out of her throat. Iseul curled up into a quivering mess and touched her chest to make sure it was still beating.
“Did we make it, Se-Jin?”
The Shadow
12-14-2011, 04:00 PM
Iain walked on, half blinded and all bloody towards distant rest. When he noticed it, he stopped and stared, the black cloud unfurling into the sky, approaching everything, including the group of seemingly random-picked people that he was a part of. He stared at it as it slowly made its descent. He didn’t move whilst he the softly whispered ‘thank you’ and the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the floor followed by another faint whisper. By now the cloud was around them and he was beginning to lose sight of what was in front of him. He turned his head towards the others to see both Iseul and Hayley on the floor, with Iseul moving and Hayley not. Ivan was standing beside them but he seemed to be as confused as Iain was, or he knew exactly what was going but whether it was a good thing or not he couldn’t gather from his blank face.
Iain decided it would be a good idea to get beside the others, just in case whatever the black was wanted to kill them, it wouldn’t surprise him, it seemed everything out here was designed to stop their particular lives. Despite being quite close to them, the blackness along with his one lame eye made finding them almost impossible.
He called out to the others, receiving no response and immediately thinking the worst had happened until he stumbled into a small clearing where the three were. Instantly seeing Hayley, he knew she was dead but he couldn’t quite comprehend what that meant, despite never having spoken to her. He blocked the image from his head and approached Ivan.
“You know what just happened?”
He didn’t know if it was safe to talk, not that he cared, the world could swallow him up if it liked, he still wouldn’t give a damn. But nothing seemed to be happening so he continued.
“Maybe we succeeded...”
But he felt something hanging over his head, a small seed of, not doubt, but something similar in the back of his head.
He stared at the blackness directly in front of him, it almost looked inviting, maybe something would eat him and he’d be able to forget this madness. The knife hanging by his belt also seemed inviting, but he ignored because he didn’t want to feel he need to use it in any way.
Now that he was able to talk freely, he felt the need to open his mouth and let the words flow out overpowering, so he said the first thing that came to his head.
“Now that we can’t see…How are we going to get back…?”
He instantly wished he hadn’t, the thought wasn’t one he was prepared for, and it broke him. He sat down where he was and stared wide-eyed into the void-like cloud in front of him and didn’t make another sound.
And the the world was Black.
He was covered in it and his eyes were closed. “Thank you.” A voice said behind him, croaking, gasping, dying. Ivan's eyes opened into the dark fog, he rocked back and forth for a moment on his feet. He didn't want to turn, he could walk ahead into the darkness, he didn't have to face them. But there was something he needed to do.
“No… no, no, no, please!”* Her voice said behind him, and someone else fell to the ground but they didn't die. Ivan didn't hear the gasping for breath. Ivan breathed out.
The black fog was hard to see through but if he looked hard enough he could see the figures of others. Ivan stumbled back toward them. He saw the two women laying beside each other in the darkness. He couldn't mistake the damage his shot had done to Haley's leg. Iseul vomited onto the ground. Ivan stared at them stunned, not sure what to do any more.
“You know what just happened?” Said a voice he'd forgotten about. Ivan looked up and could see the outline of Iain's face. He didn't reply just stood there with a black look on his face. Stunned it was all he could do to usher Iain toward the two women on the ground – his arms urgently waving at them. “Maybe we succeeded...”
“The bitch is dead,” Ivan replied, “no we did not fucking succeed. Fucking Haley is dead, fuck I shot her, I wrote her a shitty apology after destroying her knee. I just.... no, fuck, the Alien, fuck.” He croaked and whispered to himself, Ivan turned his back even with the darkness around them all. His hands were stressfully running through his short hair.
Ivan breathed out. He waited in the darkness not wanting to move at all.
“Now that we can’t see…How are we going to get back…?” Iain said.
Back... the thought came to him then. Back home to the bunker. Was it possible? Could they find their way back? Was it even worth hoping for? There was just the three of them now, maybe it would work out? They had enough food to get back, surely, it was only a day and a half. But with the darkness around then... could they survive it? Could they do it? “Yes.” Ivan said to himself.
Because I have a fucking brother to kill.
Iseul hadn't really moved and Iain was sitting down when he turned back to them.
“Get up!” Snarled Ivan at them both.
“Haley is dead, Brendan probably as well, we are the only ones left now. And I'm not about to give up, I've got things that need to be done. So if you want to live we're getting fucking out of here and back home.
“You!” He growled at the girl, “you have that daughter waiting for you.” He resisted the urge to kick her. “And you,” Ivan sneered down at Iain, “remember the fucking ass-hole who brought you out on this journey?
“Giving up because it's dark?” He asked them. “All we need is some fire, we have a map to lead us out of the city. Or are we to die.” Ivan didn't want to go by himself, he knew he couldn't make it alone. But he didn't say that.
"Home?" Iseul lifted her head, but still clutched at her chest. "Did we really do it?"
She couldn't see them in the black. Only the faintest of silhouettes, Haley's included. Haley. Ivan did it. Ivan's the one who shot her, who killed her. Iseul's face twisted into a terrible scowl, but it could not be seen. But it was true: she had a daughter to get home to. In the end, Jun meant so much more, and she needed both of them to get back.
For now, she'd comply.
Iseul fumbled around to place something in Haley's hands: the notepad. It was soaked in blood, but it was all she had to give. She then stood up, stumbling, and offered her hand to the black.
Iain knew he was right, but even then the whole situation seemed hopeless. But he couldn’t stay here by himself. Conflicting with his nature, he nodded,
“Yeah, let’s go.”
He stood up and went over to Ivan.
"Good, good," muttered Ivan relieved, he grasped Iseul's hand and touched Iain's shoulder. "To home then."
Thank you all gang for one awesome wonderful RP!!!
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