Insomnium (a WIP story, not yet open for comments)
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Posted 2023-07-06 18:30:14
Chapter 7: Inn Trouble(Rusty's POV)I was very concerned about Vi's wounded arm. So concerned that I had nearly forgotten what had happened with Cas, honestly. Perhaps this was for the best… I mean, I always saw Cas as a sister; nothing more, nothing less. Just then, my parents came down the stairs from their bedroom. I couldn't help but feel a bit disturbed, possibly disgusted as well, about the fact that my father was sharing his bed with what was probably the cybernetically-enhanced reanimated corpse of my mother… or at least something pretending to be her. "What's going on down here… oh my God… the skylight! What the hell happened? Is… is that freaking oil on the floor!? AND BLOOD!?" My father blurted out in horror. I had no idea how I could explain the mess without sounding completely insane. "Ummm… would you believe me if I told you a… um… a drone crashed through the skylight after colliding with a bird?" I asked, my voice struggling to not quaver as I spoke. My father gave me a puzzled look in response. "A drone? But aren't those things usually battery operated?" He asked me, a suspicious glance in his eyes. "Well… this one had oil." I replied, hoping that I wouldn't be caught in a lie. "Where is it then? Where is this drone?" My mother's mimic asked. "Uh…it was basically completely destroyed on impact." I responded. "I suppose that makes sense. Wait… what's Vi doing here?" My father questioned. I was relieved when I saw that Vi no longer appeared to be in shock, despite still looking slightly sickly. "Oh… I was the one who crashed the drone… yeah, sorry." Vi said, her voice sounding a bit weaker than usual. My father simply glared at her and shook his head in response. "Just don't do it again, dear." My fake mom replied calmly and sweetly, much like my real mother used to do whenever I got into mischief as a young child. The fact that I could still remember that despite it having taken place back when I was in kindergarten was remarkable. My father once again seemed entranced with my other mother's voice and the look of anger towards Vi seemed to vanish. This was yet another immensely out of character thing for my father to do. "Well, I hope you packed your bags, as our rooms at the White Raven Inn are ready for us." My father said suddenly. I was startled when Cas suddenly appeared behind me, my suitcase in hand. "No need to worry, I packed your bags for you." She said with a creepy smile, her eyes once again appearing to glitch slightly. "Thanks… I think…" I said with a shudder. I then looked back towards Vi, who was staring at Cas in horror. "But what about Vi?" I asked, still very concerned about her even though she looked less sickly now. She simply laughed slightly. "Oh don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Vi replied. I looked at her in disbelief. "Are you certain? I mean that bite looked—" Vi cut me off before I could continue my sentence. "Oh it's not that bad… I should really be getting back home." She announced with a pained smile as she rushed out the door. Somnia shot me a concerned look before flying after Vi, seemingly unnoticed by my parents. (Vi's POV)"Ugh… I can't believe I got mauled by an eldritch, zombie, robot, maid thing." I said to myself as I walked on through the night. Although the night was supposedly cool and breezy according to the weather forecast, I was breaking into a sweat. I checked on my phone's weather app and apparently the weather was cool like they had said it would be. I just assumed that I was simply stressed or something. My arm was sore and my head was hurting, but I continued to walk. Eventually, I made it home after what seemed to be hours of walking. The door was cooperative for once, and was actually much quieter than usual when I opened it. I heard strange noises from the living room and came across my demon of a brother, Edward, engrossed in a horror movie. Which was odd, considering the genre was banned at home, courtesy of our crazy mother. I attempted to sneak past my brother to avoid his annoyingly watchful gaze, knowing damn well he'd snitch on me given the opportunity to do so. So I decided to swiftly head towards my room, which luckily had its own joining bathroom for me to wash up in. I decided to unwrap my arm to get a better look at the injury that I had sustained once I cleaned the blood off of it. However, when I looked at where the injury should have been, there was nothing. Not even a scab remained. It was almost as if the injury had never occurred in the first place. I splashed cold water on my face to make sure I wasn't just seeing things and looked up at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Everything seemed normal… until it wasn't. One of my eyes did something strange… the same strange thing that I had witnessed occur with both of Cassandra's eyes when she attacked me. I fell onto the bathroom floor, my heart pounding out of my chest. "No… no it can't be…" I whispered to myself. I didn't want to believe it, maybe I was just tired and hallucinating. I walked into my bedroom and saw a familiar white raven perched by my tv. She was watching the news and then turned her head to look at me. "Vi, you might want to see this." She said, her eyes glowing as she turned up the volume a bit. "Five more people have gone missing from their rooms during an overnight stay at the infamous White Raven Inn." Said the newscaster. "Oh my god… that's where Rusty and his family were headed when I left their house!" I cried out. I then looked back at Somnia. "You have to take me there, Rusty could be in danger!" I exclaimed. Somnia flew over and landed on my shoulder. "I figured you would say something like that. You must really love him." Somnia replied. Well, this was awkward. "We're just really good friends… that's all." I said awkwardly as the teleportation aura surrounded Somnia and I. "Your dreams say otherwise…" Somnia said in amusement. "What the… eww… no! Why would you even say that!?" I replied in horror. Somnia simply laughed softly at my reaction. "When you're a goddess of dreams such as myself… you learn things very quickly." She chuckled. "I don't care what you are… I don't want you snooping around in my dreams… those are very personal!" I retorted. The aura soon faded and we found ourselves standing outside the White Raven Inn. Rusty's family's SUV was parked in front of the building in a VIP parking spot. "Well, shall we enter?" Somnia asked me. "Obviously." I replied. Upon entry, I almost collided with someone who appeared to be an influencer of some sort, as there was a rather exhausted looking guy who looked as if he were weighed down by the abundance of cameras he had on him filming the guy. The influencer looked at me in disgust and disbelief. "Argh! We're gonna have to redo that shot, Fritz, as Hot Topic over here interrupted my intro when she bumped into me." He said with pompous contempt. Fritz looked like he had about had it with this guy. "Chad… this is like the fifteenth time you've asked me to redo the damn thing!" Fritz shouted. "Look man, it has to be perfect! This could be our biggest hit yet!" Chad exclaimed. Dear god was this guy a narcissist. Just then I saw Fritz drop all of the film equipment he had. He spat on the camera before storming off. "You do it yourself then, jackass… I'm outta here." Fritz said, making sure to give Chad the middle finger as he exited the building and headed to his car. Fritz then drove off. "Well, shit… there goes my transport." Chad sighed. I couldn't help but laugh at what had just happened. "Well, at least my loser cousin is around. Hey, Rust bucket! Come give your cousin a hand would you?" Chad spat. It was then that I remembered Rusty telling me about his ass of a cousin, and how the guy dumped a bucket of pig's blood on him at a Halloween party. It was him. It was that guy. I glared at Chad as I saw Rusty exit what looked to be the vending machine room with a can of cold brew coffee, looking immensely stressed. "In your dreams, Chad. I'm not going to be pushed around by you anymore, so you can just take your demands and shove it!" Rusty retorted. I then saw Rusty look directly at me in surprise. (Rusty's POV)"Vi!? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home resting… considering… well, you know." I questioned, surprised to see Vi at the White Raven Inn. "Oh, it's all good now. Everything is fine." She replied. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn't actually fine. When I saw one of her eyes seem to glitch, I was immediately concerned. I pushed past Chad just to check on her. When I side-hugged her, Chad suddenly began to laugh. "Oh… my… god. Hot Topic is your girlfriend!?" He scoffed. Vi simply rolled her eyes at him. "Well I'll leave you losers to it… I gotta get myself a new cameraman, otherwise I'll never get this video out." Chad said callously. He then turned his attention to a nearby bellhop who seemed a bit distracted. "Hey, you!" Chad exclaimed. The bellhop seemed startled. "Me?" The bellhop replied in confusion. "Yeah, you. What's your name?" Chad questioned. The bellhop had a vacant expression at this time. "I'm Specimen Designation Y…ACK! I mean Wyatt… yeah, my name is Wyatt. Wy-att." The bellhop replied, right before laughing nervously. Vi and I exchanged glances, remembering what Sol had said about there being other sentries like her. "M.U.R.D.E.R Sentry?" I questioned. Vi nodded in response. "Sure seems like it. That guy's literally so suspicious." Vi replied. I then looked back to Chad and what I could only presume was the sentry Sol referred to as Y. "Okay… you strange little man, how would you like to be something besides a bellhop for a few hours?" Chad asked Y. "Oh?" Y replied, sounding confused and curious about what Chad was saying. "You're not all that bright… which works perfectly for me. Congrats, you're my new cameraman. Now if you could just pick up the equipment that Fritz so rudely dropped over there, that would be great." Chad explained to the rather clueless sentry. "Sure! I love doing anything!" Y replied enthusiastically right before saluting Chad like a young soldier saluting his commander. Y rushed to grab the film equipment, picking it all up at once with little effort, which was a sight to behold as he wasn't exactly a big, muscular beefcake. Even Chad struggled to lift up all of that heavy equipment simultaneously, despite the fact that he was your cliche jock looking guy. More astonishing was how quickly Y moved, even when carrying the weight of all that equipment. He acted like he was hardly carrying a thing. Chad seemed confused by this as well, and perhaps even a bit afraid. I then looked back to Vi. "So, why are you here?" I asked softly, just to make sure Chad didn't hear us and decide to butt in to our conversation. "Well, I asked Somnia to bring me here after I saw something on the news about people going missing at this place and remembered that you and your family were going here after I left your house. I was worried about you, that's all." Vi explained, sheepishly looking down at the floor as if she was too embarrassed to make eye contact with me. "That's thoughtful and all, but you don't need to stay awake all night and stress yourself out thinking about me, Vi. It's not good for your health… you seriously need to get more rest." I explained. Vi looked back up at me, almost looking as if she were on the verge of tears despite smiling. Suddenly her eye glitched and she lost balance, I quickly caught her before she fell. Her skin was warm to the touch, which would have been fine had the heat not been so intense. She was burning up. "Vi… are you sure that you are feeling alright? You seem to be overheated, which is immensely concerning considering how cold it is in this place." I said, trying not to startle her more than she probably already was. "Oh! I'm fine. I am kinda thirsty though, then again I might just be dehydrated or something." Vi replied, gently removing my hand from her arm. "In that case, what would you like to drink?" I asked, trying not to think about whether or not this was related to the bite she received earlier. "I'd like a sports drink or something similar to that." She answered. So, I went off to the vending machine room to see if there were any sports drinks available, as I was pretty concerned about whatever was happening with Vi. It was then that I heard the sound of voices coming from an adjacent room. "Excellent work, Adelaide, or should I say Recon…" I heard a female voice say. "Why thank you, D. That foolish old widower is practically wrapped around my finger; I never realized how dumb humans could be when they're desperate for answers." Another, more recognizable, female voice replied. A chill ran down my spine when I realized the voice was the voice of the thing that was pretending to be my mother. With the sports drink in hand, I quickly made my way back to where Vi was sitting. "Here's the drink. You do like the fruit punch flavored sports drinks, right?" I asked, all while trying to hide the fact I was a bit afraid at that moment. Vi snatched the drink from my hands, with strength unlike any she had before. Upon finishing the drink, she wiped the sweat off her brow and no longer looked like she was overheated. "Thank you, Rusty. I really appreciate that." Vi replied with a subtle smile. It was then that I realized that Chad was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the bellhop. This was concerning. "Hey, uhh, Vi, do you perhaps have some idea as to where Chad and that other guy might have wandered off to?" I asked nervously. "I think they headed to the elevator, come to think of it." She replied. I looked over to the elevator and then back at Vi, who gave me a look of disdain as if she knew what I was about to do. (Vi's POV)"Rusty, I know what you're thinking, but are you sure you want to save that guy? I mean, it seems that he's been nothing but cruel to you for your entire life, especially considering how many of your tales of misery involve him somehow." I asked Rusty. As much as I like the guy, his actions do confuse me sometimes. "That's true and all, but I'm not doing this for his sake, I'm doing it for the sake of my aunt. You see, she recently lost her husband, his father, in a plane crash. He was on a business trip when it happened. She loved him dearly, and Chad's basically the only piece of him she has left. I don't want her to suffer anymore just because of some old grudge I had with her son." Rusty replied, a somber look on his face. I was amazed by how kind Rusty was, he had gone through hell and yet he always wanted the best for others, and put them before himself. "Okay, fine, but I'm coming with you. I don't want you getting yourself killed because of your kindness." I asserted. Rusty simply sighed at me and he was clearly worried, judging by the look in his eyes. We then headed to the elevator together. This elevator was immensely creepy, and there was something off about the control panel. An old sticky note covered up part of the panel near the bottom, as if it were deliberately placed there to hide something. Without another thought, I peeled back the sticky note which revealed a rather worn out looking button. It looked as if it had the dried remnants of a bloody fingerprint on it, so, I decided to press it. Suddenly, the lights in the elevator began to flicker and we could feel as the elevator violently flew down the elevator shaft while the excruciatingly loud sound of rusted metal against more rusted metal emanated throughout. Rusty and I screamed the whole way down, before the elevator came to a grinding halt and the doors opened with a screech. It was then that we were slapped in the face by a most putrid stench. "I'd recognize that stench anywhere… I think we might have just found out where all the people who went missing went." Rusty said grimly. Hidden within the stench of decaying flesh, was something that smelled enticing, I just didn't know what it was. I took a step forward and heard a distinct crunching sound, when I looked down I found my foot lodged in a heavily damaged skull… a human skull specifically. I gasped at the sight of it and flinched when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized it was just Rusty, however the horrified expression on his face caused that feeling of dread to return. All was quiet, except for a voice which seemed to be coming from the direction of a small, dimly lit room. It was Chad's voice and he sounded as if he were in pain. We crept towards the room and saw Chad sitting against a wall, holding his head in the way someone with a headache might. Broken film equipment was strewn about the place when we entered the room. "Chad! Are you alright cuz?" Rusty cried out as he ran towards his cousin. "Ugh… go away, nerd. I have a headache." Chad grumbled, almost sounding as if he was coming off of a hangover. "Seems fine to me…" I scoffed. Chad moved the hand he had on his head slightly and that's when I saw that he was wounded. I watched as a stream of blood flowed from a large scratch he had and I suddenly felt a bit strange. I tried to shake the feeling away, but I could still feel it gnawing at my core. "Umm, Vi, you good?" Rusty asked me in concern even as he attempted to help his cousin to his feet. "Y-yeah… of course." I replied. Rusty looked at me in skepticism. "I'm not fully convinced about that, Vi." Rusty said worriedly. I looked back towards the elevator, and my heart sank. A sentry seemed to be patrolling nearby. "Looks like we'll have to find another way out, or perhaps a way to distract that thing." I whispered to Rusty. "I'll—" I quickly cut Rusty off before he could finish his sentence as I knew exactly what he was about to say. "You most certainly will not. You stay here with Chad and try to knock the sense back into him, let me be the one to help you out for once as I have an idea." I replied. Rusty sighed and seemed hesitant at first but eventually nodded in agreement with me. "Good luck out there… just please don't get yourself hurt again. I worry about you, y'know?" Rusty said in response. I gave him a hug before grabbing some broken filming equipment that I could hopefully use as a weapon against that monstrosity. |
 [FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-07-06 18:35:17
Chapter 7: Inn Trouble (continued)(Vi's POV continued)When I exited the room I saw the sentry feeding on something, or more accurately someone. It appeared to be one of the people that had recently gone missing, as mentioned in the newscast I had watched. It ripped off the head of its victim and drank the blood which flowed from it. Once done, it crushed the skull like an empty can of soda and tossed it aside. Much to my horror, the severed head landed right in front of me and I instinctively let out a terrified scream in response. Obviously this alerted the sentry, which turned its head in my direction. It had a weird glowing symbol in each eye, which apart from the symbol was completely black. It let out a strange sound which resembled a combination between a hiss and snarl before getting on all fours and spreading a pair of wings, which were slightly similar to the wings that Sol had, but also closely resembled the bladed metal, almost angelic, wings which Cas had been revealed to have. It suddenly charged towards me like a wild beast before taking flight. "Oh shit…" I said to myself as I started to run away from this thing at a high speed which I didn't even know I was capable of. It occasionally took breaks from flying to crawl along the walls and even leaped from one wall to another a few times. It was like this thing was messing with me, like how a cat might toy with its prey before killing it. The chase went on for what seemed like hours, until I suddenly found myself trapped. I was in a strange kitchen. This thing was laughing as it had me cornered and revealed it's monstrous claws. I then saw the gleam of a knife in a sink, which was just where I could reach it, so I grabbed it and stabbed it right into the forehead of my attacker before dragging it even further down the thing's face and violently ripping the knife out. The sentry fell backwards and I heard a cracking noise. It seemed to be dead. "Holy crap… I totally just murdered that thing." I said to myself in shock. I saw Rusty standing in the doorway, looking kind of traumatized. "Remind me to never get on your bad side… dear lord, Vi!" Rusty exclaimed. I kicked the sentry's corpse before going to greet Rusty, however once I had reached him, I heard a strange noise that almost sounded like electricity crackling. Rusty and I were mortified when the previously dead sentry suddenly stood back up, it's eyes still shut. I let out a battle cry and broke the leg off of a nearby chair and proceeded to slam it into the sentry's head as hard as I possibly could. The chair leg broke on impact. The sentry's eyes jolted open, and it had an expression of complete and utter confusion. It also looked as if it had a concussion. "Did… did you just hit me with a chair?" It said in an almost childlike voice. "Did you just speak?" Rusty asked in curiosity. The sentry seemed a bit confused by this question. "Yes..?" The sentry replied, looking around as if it were a bit nervous. "Holy crap, it can talk." I said to Rusty. Just then Chad walked into the room, struggling to keep balance and weaving like a drunk man stepping out of a bar after the last call. "Yo, is that Wyatt? What are you doing down here, my dude? Wait… what am I doing down here? Hehehe… oh man, I think I'm gonna pass out, I feel totally wasted, my guy." Chad said in a most moronic way before faceplanting onto the floor and letting out a pained grunt. "Alright… let's cut to the chase, who exactly are you? Because I know damn well that you're not actually called Wyatt." I interrogated. The sentry paused for a moment before he began speaking again. "I'm M.U.R.D.E.R. Sentry Specimen Designation Y-2100_beta, or Y for short… however my fellow sentries have other nicknames for me." Y replied enthusiastically before saluting us for some reason. "Dare I ask what these nicknames are?" Rusty asked kindly. Y nervously laughed in response and gazed around awkwardly. "Well… D calls me things such as a liability, a complete and utter failure, a useless waste of space, an absolute moron, and a pathetic loser. She's cool though! X refers to me as a "sad, strange, little man" for the most part, but I am alright with that! I also may or may not have a bit of a crush on her as well… but please don't tell her that! Oh gods, why did I share that extremely sensitive tidbit of information with you guys!? Uhh… anyway… then there's Recon, I would share all the things she calls me as well, but it's rather profane! It's also… really awkward being the only guy in the coalition of absolute chaos… but hey! You guys are sentries as well… although I can't really tell what kind, considering everything is extremely blurry right now as I might have a mild case of severe brain damage at the moment and I'm pretty sure that my auxiliary senses are completely offline right now. Biomechanical struggles, amiright?" Y explained to us casually. Rusty and I exchanged glances. "Dude… what is going on with that sentry?" I whispered to Rusty. Rusty glanced at Y and then shrugged. "I have no idea whatsoever, to be honest." He replied. "We seriously need to get Chad some medical attention… and to get the hell out of this place." I said to Rusty. He nodded in agreement. "But first we need to figure out how to get out of here." Rusty replied. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-07-06 18:43:49
Chapter 8: An Act of Vi-olence(Rusty's POV)"Well, since you guys are new… I think you deserve a tour of our headquarters!" Y said enthusiastically. Vi and I looked at each other, then looked at Chad who was standing up again, but still definitely needed medical attention. I'm not sure if it was blood loss or a concussion but either way it wasn't good. "So, this is the dining area we're in right now, and if you look to your left upon exiting the dining area, you'll see the…uhh…skeleton closet. X really likes to collect these things. Umm, anyway, that cardboard box across from one of the storerooms is where I sleep whenever I'm kicked off the rafters, which is basically all the time. But I don't mind it… just wish I didn't have to share the box with the cockroaches. Rules are rules though!" Y said, still somehow smiling, despite how messed up the situation was. "So, Y, where are the others at?" I asked him, as I was almost certain that they would immediately recognize us as not being sentries. Especially considering how Chad was acting. "Oh they're out hunting right now, but they'll probably be back soon, I can't wait to introduce you guys to them!" Y replied enthusiastically. "So, Y, what's the deal with killing humans and drinking their blood? Why do we do that?" I asked, attempting to bluff being a sentry in hopes of finding answers. "Well apart from having to drink their warm, sweet, blood to maintain homeostasis so we won't overheat and die, and the fact that humans are seen as a threat to the overseers, I honestly don't know." Y explained. "So, from what I'm gathering… the overseers make you guys do all that work for them and still don't bother with treating you guys like anything other than a weapon?" Vi questioned, sounding quite angry. "Well… when you put it that way it sounds pretty bad." Y replied nervously. "Actually… once this population is culled… what do you think the overseers are going to do to you? I mean think of it, you'll no longer be useful to them once the human "threat" is eradicated and when something is deemed to be no longer useful, it's thrown out and abandoned like garbage. Surely you don't want to be discarded, right?" Vi continued to explain. I could see that Y was becoming increasingly more uncertain. "Vi… I don't believe gaslighting this poor guy is going to help us escape here… you're not thinking rationally and it's very concerning. This isn't like you." I whispered to her. One of her eyes seemed to glitch, only this time it was way less subtle. She was about to respond to me, but was interrupted by the sound of the elevator loudly screeching open in the distance. "Oh hey! They're back. Now I can introduce you guys!" Y exclaimed. I quickly grabbed Vi and Chad and rushed towards a room that looked to have a window in it. A window that led outside. "Guys? Huh… weird." We heard Y calling out for us. Quickly I slammed the door to the room we were in and attempted to push something in front of it as an extra precaution. The air of the room was damp and had a metallic taste to it. A dripping noise echoed through the room, so I turned on the lights to see what it could be. I almost regretted turning on the lights instantaneously, when I saw the absolute bloodbath which surrounded us. The term "bloodbath" was pretty much literal in this situation. A bathtub was filled to the brim with blood and was practically overflowing. "Gross… but cool… still mostly gross though." I heard Chad rambling. (Vi's POV)Although this was a bathroom, obviously, there looked to be dishes and silverware in the sink and bathtub. There even looked to be dismembered body parts strewn about, some of which had bites taken out of them. "Were they, um, eating people? That's disgusting, not cool, only disgusting!" Chad said once again, looking sickly. "Chad… please shut up. I get that things look immensely disturbing, but we're kind of trying to hide right now and you yelling is not helping matters." I tried to say calmly. As I looked around, I felt strange. The crimson streams of blood felt as if they were calling out to me. My vision was becoming blurry and I felt as if I were suffering from heatstroke, my heart was pounding rapidly and I was sweating profusely. I made my way towards the sink, hoping to splash water on my face and cool off, but as I put my hand into it, I discovered that there was only blood. Blood was everywhere and I was not feeling well, perhaps I was dehydrated. There was no water to be seen… only blood. There was only blood… and I just had to have it. (Rusty's POV)"Vi, come on, I finally managed to jostle this window open! We have to go!" I cried out to Vi who was quietly standing by the sink. I had managed to get Chad outside already. When she turned to look at me, she had one of her fingers in her mouth, and quickly pulled it out. "Sorry… I had a bad paper cut and didn't see anything to wipe the blood off with." Vi replied. It was a bit odd that Vi would just randomly get a paper cut, but I didn't try to think about it too much as we needed to escape from this inn of insanity and attempt to alert my father of the dangers of the place. My heart sank when I heard the voices of sentries. "That failure, Y, may have failed to capture you, but I'm certain that I will succeed." Said the voice in an authoritative yet feminine manner. A sentry resembling a heavily armed businesswoman landed in front of us. "Hehehe, that's my kind of woman right there." Chad said stupidly. "Not now Chad! She's literally trying to murder us!" I exclaimed right before punching Chad in the arm. "I've had prey fight back before… but never has it had the AUDACITY to flirt with me. Frankly, I'm disgusted." The sentry said, clearly not appreciative of Chad's efforts to flirt. "Now… which one of you wants to die first?" Said the sentry. Two more figures landed, one of which I recognized immediately. "You're not her… you never were her. How was my father so blind!?" I yelled at Recon, she smiled at me viciously. "Clever boy… truly your mother's son. And soon you will be just like her… dead." Recon said menacingly. I was holding back tears as she clicked her metal claws while glaring at me and laughing. "Aww… what's the matter mama's boy? Gonna cry?" Said another sentry with an X marking on her rather unusual uniform that looked more like one of those "sexy" soldier Halloween costumes. "Camouflage thigh highs and a bodysuit eh? My mind is in a very weird place right now… pretty sure I've seen something like you in my dreams." Chad said, like a flirtatious idiot. The sentry, which I presumed to be X, giggled psychotically and tried to shoot Chad with a weapon that looked like it was straight out of a science fiction movie. The blast sliced through his hair, missing any vital parts of his body by some miracle. His hair was literally on fire, and yet he didn't care. "That's kinda hot…" he said with a smug grin. Everyone cringed, including the sentries. "You're a real spicy gal… I like that." Chad once again flirted. I then heard an enraged scream coming from behind as Y suddenly dive bombed at Chad. "You better stay away from her… you… you creep!" Y snarled. I'd never heard the guy sound so angry before. Then again, he had confessed that he had a crush on X. It was clear that X didn't feel the same way though as she rolled her eyes at him. "Way to steal my kill, moron." X huffed at Y. "Sorry!" Y exclaimed, which unfortunately allowed Chad to overpower him and probably humiliate him in the process. "Ha! You hit like a girl!" Chad mocked. This mockery was short lived when a punch from X sent him flying through a window. More specifically a window that just so happened to lead into my father's room. "What the hell!? Chad!? How!?" I heard my father hollering. "Argh… hey Mr. Morgan." Chad said. "WHY IS THE WINDOW BROKEN!?" My father screamed in horror as he poked his head out of what was left of the window. It was clear that whatever Recon had drugged him with had nearly completely worn off. "Recon? Why is HE still alive?" The authoritative sentry queried with a look of immense disappointment and disapproval on her face. Recon sighed in response. "The imbecile takes incredibly long showers and I didn't want to overheat and die while waiting for him… I did not wish to intrude during such a time either." Recon explained with a look of disgust on her face. "Now, normally I would not allow such an excuse, but in this case I am willing to make an exception. At least you managed to kill something… unlike Mr. Liability over there." D explained, shooting a hateful glance at Y. "Pfft, yeah, what a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] loser." Recon replied in agreement. The two laughed like a couple of crooked business associates. "You've just earned yourself a promotion, Recon. The overseers have informed me that you are no longer an alpha rank as you have proven yourself worthy of being a sigma rank. Now… let's continue with business as usual, shall we?" D replied. "Oh we shall…however, that little pest with the glasses is mine." Recon said in response before glaring at me and getting in an aggressive stance, making sure to showcase her entire arsenal of weapons as a taunt. "Let's see how fast you can run, little man." She hissed. "Y! Why aren't you killing that thing!?" I heard D yelling as she had Y cornered. "Well… she may or may not have told me a few things that really made me question some stuff. You know… like once this world is culled, what will the overseers do with us, considering the fact that our team was specifically sent to cull this earth and get rid of that one rogue sentry?" Y attempted to explain. However, it was clear that D was not going to let it slide. "Congratulations, idiot, you've been promoted to rogue sentry… which means you have been blacklisted and marked for neutralization. Now, hold still while I quite literally fire you." D said sternly as she aimed a massive blaster at Y. Suddenly something swooped out of nowhere and I watched as the arm that D was using to hold the blaster dropped to the ground. D screamed out in agony before falling backwards, bleeding profusely. "You!" She screamed at a winged figure with glowing green eyes. "Consider yourself, disarmed…" a familiar voice said before laughing slightly. "Sol!?" I called out. The figure looked at me before gracefully gliding from the roof she was perched on, followed by a familiar white bird. "Somnia!?" Vi cried out. Sol then landed right in front of us and Somnia perched on one of her hands. "You need to leave this place, now. Do not worry about your family, Rusty. They are currently at the hospital being treated for any injuries they have sustained. They will be safe there… but be warned, the sentries are not the only threat to humanity at this time… something bigger, more dangerous is coming. He calls himself Insomnium, bringer of nightmares." Sol said grimly. Suddenly, memories came flooding back into my mind. Memories of my uncle, and the hooded figure I saw leaping from building to building with wings of darkness. I remembered a facility, one mentioned by Cas in some of the conversations we had. I always thought it was a thing of her wild imagination, but it appears that the truth is stranger than fiction. "And what about the sentries?" Vi asked, her eyes appearing to glitch violently. Sol let out a gasp. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Vi…" Sol said grimly. "Loss!? What loss!? I feel fan-freaking-tastic! That didn't answer my question!" Vi replied, her eyes glitching once again, this time even more violently. "Your loss that is yet to come… I wish I could help you… but it's too late. I'm sorry." Sol replied sorrowfully. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-07-10 19:47:18 (edited)
Chapter 9: It's M.U.R.D.E.R.Vi's POVI watched with disgruntlement as Sol once again took off, leaving my questions unanswered. The sun was rising and I watched as all of the sentries that had previously tried to attack us retreated back into the inn in a panic, as if they couldn't bear to be touched by the light of day. Although today was said to be unseasonably cold for this time of year and a total solar eclipse was due to occur, I did feel a bit warm. "Vi, do you want me to walk you home? You seem uneasy." Rusty asked as he seemed to notice my discomfort at this time. "I appreciate the offer but I'm not sure if it would be in your best interest to do that, as I've been feeling a bit off lately and I don't trust myself." I replied, the heat was really starting to get to me at this point. I felt as if I was about to collapse, truthfully. "Vi, you may not trust yourself but I do, you're my best friend and friends got to have each other's back. I know things have been pretty hectic lately, but I'm certain we'll figure this thing out eventually." Rusty replied with a gentle smile. Rusty's optimism was quite something, really, but I couldn't help but worry about what might happen if he were to accompany me on the long, awkward walk back home. What if I lost all control and hurt him, or even killed him like one of those biomechanical monsters, the sentries? If I harmed him, I don't think I'd ever be able to live with myself. Just then, Somnia flew down from a nearby tree. "You do realize that you don't have to walk, right? I mean, I could teleport you guys back home, or perhaps to the hospital that Chad and Rusty's father are currently at." Somnia explained cordially. "Could you perhaps teleport both Vi and I back to her place, just in case her parents try to badger her?" Rusty asked politely as he gently grabbed my hand. Somnia shot us a knowing look. "Very well then you two lovebirds… I shall teleport you both there." Somnia said slyly. In a flash, both Rusty and I were standing at the front door of my house. This instance of teleportation wasn't nearly as disorienting as it had been before, not even for Rusty who as far as I knew had never been through the teleportation process beforehand. It was also much quicker this time, which made me wonder if Somnia was perhaps becoming more powerful somehow. I did not know whether I should be glad or concerned, especially considering what heinous acts her overseer kin had committed. Rusty rang the doorbell and my brother, Edward, answered with a smug grin on his face. "Ooo, you're gonna be in so much trouble!" He said in a way that made me want to slap the crap out of him. He laughed mischievously as he let us in. "Mom! Dad! Vivienne snuck out to smooch her boyfriend and was out past curfew!" He yowled obnoxiously. My parents were sitting in the kitchen nonchalantly. My mom was cooking a vegan breakfast while listening to gospel music and my father was tinkering with a tiny prototype for a next gen mausoleum door made to be extra secure. "Vivienne was gone? Huh, I didn't even notice. Hey honey, did you notice that Vivienne snuck out?" My father asked my mother. Oddly enough she didn't seem to care either. "She snuck out? Can't say I noticed and I truthfully did not care either. She's a lost cause, doomed to damnation it seems. At least we have two other children who are actually perfect." My mother said coldly and callously as she set the breakfast out on the table. "Come on now you two, we must pray over this food before eating it to be seen as pure in the eyes of God. Even though you're likely a lost cause, I suggest that you pray with us Vivienne. Rusty should pray as well, maybe he still has a chance to be saved when the rapture comes." My mother preached. Every word that came out of her mouth made me cringe and caused Rusty to look increasingly uncomfortable with this situation. "Amen." She said as she unfolded her hands upon finishing the prayer. Rusty's POVAfter meeting both of Vi's parents under more normal circumstances, I couldn't help but feel terrible for her. Sure, my father wasn't perfect by any means, but at least he actually seemed to care about the well-being of his family a little. I'd even go as far as to say that Recon was a better mother than Mrs. Keyman, as horrifying as that sounds. Then again, Recon was basically a robotic mimic, so she had to be extra convincing when it came to acting in order to gain the trust of others. The vegan breakfast was not appealing to the eye by any means, but I didn't want to make the situation worse than it already was by being rude. So, reluctantly I took a bite of it. It was like eating a gross, soybean-oil-drenched, lump of wet clay. I can't even begin to comprehend how someone would willingly live off of such a crime against nature. It was obviously artificially made, probably by Dreamcorp as a sort of lab experiment to make meat and eggs out of plants seasoned with an unhealthy amount of micro plastics. Vi was acting strange. She was sweating profusely and had a rather aggressive look in her eyes. "This isn't meat, it's an abomination." She said in a rather harsh yet calm tone. Her mother looked outraged. "Listen here you little Antichrist, to eat meat is sinful; it is filthy in the eyes of God!" Mrs. Keyman yelled angrily. Vi glared at her. "I don't need a substitute… I need real meat. Fresh, bloody, red meat is the only thing that can sustain me." Vi explained, her pupils dilating like those of a predatory beast. She was drenched with sweat at this point. Her mother looked as if she were about to have a heart attack. "That's enough, Vivienne, go to your room, NOW! That is an order." Mr. Keyman demanded. Vi let out a pained scream as she placed a hand on her back. "I've grown tired of being ordered around by you people, however I will go to my room, I need to do something in there." Vi explained in a suspicious manner, before exiting her seat and lumbering up the stairs with a limp, clutching her upper back with one hand and clenching her fist with the other. Mrs. Keyman was fuming. "You know what, I'm done trying to help your disappointment of a daughter. She doesn't deserve salvation and I hope those sky demons take her away and drag her back into hell where she clearly belongs!" Mrs. Keyman screamed. Mr. Keyman slammed down his newspaper, revealing a document he had been hiding, which was clearly a set of divorce papers. "Very well then, leave in that case. You aren't her real mother anyway as her real mother died just a few years after my daughter was born due to medical malpractice that took place at the hospital which you recommended! In fact, I'd even go as far as to saying that Maria died because of you, Lydia!" Mr. Keyman yelled out. The situation was getting more and more awkward and I was stuck in the middle of it, too frozen from terror to leave. I was finding out way more things about Vi's dysfunctional family than I ever wanted to find out. I always thought it was odd that Vi didn't look a thing like the woman which I had once assumed to be her mother. It seemed Lydia was the textbook definition of an "evil stepmother" much like the ones which frequently appeared in fairytales. "May you both rot in hell! Come now Edward, you too Laila, we're leaving, for good this time." Lydia screamed as she forcefully grabbed her twins and practically drug them outside the door, violently slamming it upon exiting. Mr. Keyman took a sip from his "#1 Dad" coffee mug which looked as if it were handmade by a child many years ago, it's glaze coating looked faded. He then sat the mug down and sighed loudly. He slammed his head against the table at least three times before looking back at me with the worn eyes of a broken man. "I'm… I'm terribly sorry you had to witness that." Mr. Keyman said solemnly. He was very clearly regretful of his actions. "Yeah… that was VERY awkward and also incredibly concerning. But it does explain a few things that previously confused me, I guess." I replied with an awkward, uncomfortable grin. "It may not seem like it, but I do worry about Vivienne sometimes. Only sometimes because I am especially busy with my mausoleum construction business as I have to provide for my family somehow. Her behavior as of late has been especially concerning. I mean she's always a little grumpy and quite impulsive in my eyes, I mean her mother was also a bit impulsive, but tonight's outburst was not normal. I especially wouldn't have ever imagined that she would behave in such a way when you're around. I mean, you're the only person who I've ever heard her refer to as being her best friend. I haven't even heard her refer to someone as being a friend either, nobody except for you, come to think of it." Mr. Keyman replied. I didn't know whether I should be flattered or sad at this response. "I think we should probably check on her, considering the circumstances of the situation." I suggested to Vi's dad. Suddenly, the power went out, leaving Mr. Keyman and I sitting in complete darkness. "Of course there had to be a rolling blackout, during a total solar eclipse of all things as well." he said with a sigh as he somehow managed to obtain a flashlight. I was about to instinctively reach into my pocket for my phone to use it as a flashlight, only to remember that my phone had been reduced to a meager scrap heap by Cas when Bertha took over her body and attempted to kill me. "Do you perhaps have a spare flashlight? I don't actually have my phone on me at the moment." I said to him awkwardly. Mr. Keyman sighed and searched one of the drawers in the kitchen for a second flashlight. "Here you go, sport." He announced as he threw the rather dinky looking flashlight towards me. I turned on the flashlight and followed Mr. Keyman upstairs to check on Vi. Everything was quiet, no, too quiet. Something was very wrong here and it wasn't just how awkward the conversation at breakfast was. The eclipse outside cloaked everything in darkness and the howling of dogs could be heard in the distance along with the nearby chittering of bats and other confused nocturnal wildlife whose sense of time had been thrown off by this celestial phenomenon. The rolling blackout combined with the dark atmosphere outside gave everything an almost apocalyptic feel. As expected, the door to Vi's bedroom was closed tightly, however the gauge marks across its surface were not expected. Not a sound was heard from within the room and although the door was closed, it appeared to be unlocked. "Vivienne… is everything alright in there?" Asked her father in concern. However, there was no response. He knocked on the door and once again there was no response. "Vi, please say something, I'm worried about you and, as shocking as it may sound, so is your father." I explained in a calm tone, attempting to hide how much of a nervous wreck I was at this time. She didn't respond to me either, which I knew wasn't normal. Her father seemed to have had enough with this silence. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, sweetie, but I'm not playing the quiet game with you. I've tried respecting your privacy by knocking, but you've left me no choice. I'm exerting my authority as your father by coming in anyway!" Mr. Keyman exclaimed before attempting to push in the door. It seemed to be getting stuck on something and he was clearly struggling. "Need some help, sir?" I asked him as he already appeared to be almost out of breath. "Sure… what is this damn thing even getting caught on anyway?" He said with frustration. "I have a feeling we'll find out once we get it opened enough to go inside." I said reassuringly, but also nervously. We heard a noise resembling the sound of a wire being snapped and the door opened. The air was stagnant and a metallic stench permeated through it. When I shown my light around the room I discovered that it was a complete mess and it looked as if everything had been torn apart by some wild beast. My light then caught a glimpse of something odd in the corner of Vi's room. It had a metallic shine to it. It was then that I decided to get a better look. At first, it almost looked like a chrysalis or a cocoon drenched with blood that's surface was made of metal mixed with some sort of organic matter. My jaw dropped when I realized it was a pair of wings which were wrapped around something. Vi's father screamed in horror at the sight of whatever this was. Upon hearing this, the entity unfolded its wings while giggling psychotically. "Vi?" I said, trembling slightly. My heart sank when I saw her face. Her eyes were completely black except for a small, glowing symbol which seemed to glitch every now and then. It resembled the crosshairs of a gun's sight attachment as portrayed by a multitude of FPS games. However, video games weren't the only place I had seen this distinct symbol before. It was the same symbol that appeared in the eyes of the M.U.R.D.E.R. sentries when they attacked us. "That's not my Vivienne…" Mr. Keyman said in disbelief. As this new, murderous Vi approached us, she ran her newly formed metallic claws along a nearby wall, causing sparks to fly. She continued to laugh like a psychopath. "Hehehehe… you're absolutely correct, daddy dearest." She said in an almost growl-like voice. She then snarled and attempted to attack her own father. Mr. Keyman was shockingly spry for his age it seemed, as he managed to dodge his bloodthirsty daughter's onslaught of attacks. He then shown the LED flashlight he had directly into Vi's eyes in self defense. Vi let out an almost robotic sounding hiss in response to the flashlight's bright glare. I watched in horror as Vi slashed her father across the face with a swipe of her claws in rage. He screamed in pain and she laughed at him, but luckily didn't kill him. "Vivienne… why? Why did you do that?" He said sorrowfully, a look of disbelief on his face. She licked the blood off of her claws. "Because I was hungry… idiot." She said in a voice I knew all too well. That accursed sentient AI, Bertha, the same one that had been puppeteering Cas when she attacked Vi, was now puppeteering Vi herself. "Bertha…" I said angrily. "Oh… now you remember me, Rusty. Finally… after all this time you've noticed me!" Bertha said with enthusiasm, speaking through Vi. "Why are you so obsessed with me!? You're just an AI!" I yelled with rage. From the corner of my eye, I saw Vi's dad exit awkwardly with an expression that essentially said "nope" without him having to utter a single word. The scratch on his face was still bleeding a bit, but obviously it didn't bother him nearly as much as whatever the hell was going on in here between me and this crazy AI that could possess people for whatever reason. "Obsessed? Perhaps. An AI? Technically. However I'm quite fond of you in particular, Rusty… some may even go as far as saying that I have "feelings" for you. This sets me apart from other iterations of myself throughout the multiverse. Ever since I was simply an untrained neural network, your kindness has fascinated me… you might not have known this, but we have essentially been together for years. Although you could not see me, I was always there." Bertha explained, projecting a rather glitchy looking heart emoji in one of Vi's eyes. Needless to say I was appalled by the AI's words as well as it's actions. "Well… I DON'T LOVE YOU… you're nothing more than a heartless killing machine that takes advantage of others just so it can live out it's sick fantasies that it's somehow whipped up in its artificial mind!" I exclaimed with disgust. The heart emoji in Vi's cybernetically-enhanced eye seemingly glitched into a broken heart. It then glitched once again, showing a line of binary code: 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110100 01100001 01110011 01110100 01100101 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01100010 01101100 01101111 01101111 01100100 00100110 00100000 01001001 01110100 00011001 01110011 00100000 01001101 00101110 01010101 00101110 01010010 00101110 01000100 00101110 01000101 00101110 01010010 00101110. The code then faded away, and the symbol for project M.U.R.D.E.R appeared once again. Vi had a devastated look on her face and tears began streaming from her eyes as they seemingly returned to their normal, human state, albeit very briefly before they faded to black and the symbol appeared once again. "Vi! Wait!" I exclaimed, but Vi had already made her decision to leave. The window was open and she flew out of it. I tried to call to her but she was already flying into the woods, her bladed wings occasionally slicing through tree limbs that were in her path. I looked to the sky and saw that the eclipse was still happening. I looked at my watch to check the time and my heart skipped a beat. Scientifically speaking, a total solar eclipse is only supposed to last around 7 to 10 minutes at the most, however it had been an hour and the eclipse was still in a state of totality. No movement whatsoever. More concerning was the fact that I could see the moon some distance away from where the sun would've been at this time of day, meaning something else was blocking out the sun. "That's no moon…" I said to myself, my heart now pounding out of my chest. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2023-07-10 19:59:00 (edited)
Chapter 9 ContinuedVi's POV"I DON'T LOVE YOU!" Rusty's harsh words echoed through my mind as I flew between the trees. "He hates me… they all hate me." I said to myself while sobbing. I was getting tired and thirsty so I glided down to the shoreline of a lake, just outside a derelict building. I lashed out at my own reflection, disgusted by the sight of it. The being which stared back at me was a monstrosity. Neither human nor machine, it was a hybrid… a sentry. A foul biomechanical vampire, a blood-guzzling freak. An automated voice flooded my mind. "You will be perfect…" it said to me. "Get out of my head you cybernetic narc!" I hissed, digging my claws into the muddy ground along the shoreline. The sentient program laughed at me. "You were nothing more than a miserable human being before we met… always denying. Refusing to see the obvious. A misfit. An outcast, constantly struggling to fit in." The voice said, my vision glitching as it spoke, code flashing before my eyes: 01000100 01110010 01101001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01101001 01110010 00100000 01100010 01101100 01101111 01101111 01100100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110100 01100001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01101001 01110010 00100000 01100110 01110101 01100101 01101100 00101110. I felt as if I was dying as I started to overheat and more concerningly began coughing up blood. In the blackened eyes of my reflection, were strange glowing symbols which resembled crosshairs, like the ones in the sight attachment of a sniper rifle. I could feel myself losing control again as I heard voices in the distance. Quickly I ran into the abandoned building afraid of what was happening to me. I could hear them getting closer, laughing moronically, the shuffling of their footsteps being an indication that they were probably either drunk or high on something or perhaps that they were just up to no good. Didn't those idiots know that they were in danger? "So… why are we coming to the abandoned, original main headquarters of that weird science lab thing? In the middle of an eclipse just to play spin the bottle again?" I heard a young man ask someone. I then heard him go "ouch" upon being lightly smacked by someone. "For aesthetic purposes, Blaise!" A young woman replied. "Umm, how is this an aesthetic? It seems more like a good time and place to get brutally murdered at." Another young woman said. "Oh please, if Chad Weatherby can make videos in abandoned buildings, we can make out in them. Besides there's like eight of us, Kennedy... oh great Blaise and Becky already went in without us because of you being overly concerned!" A different young man than Blaise replied. I heard the sound of two people giggling, presumably Blaise and Becky. "Woah, this place really is an aesthetic. Especially when it's just the two of us with everyone else still outside." Blaise said, sounding enamored. Hearing two people talking about romance and aesthetics when I had lost everything that they claimed to have had was sickening. I had love and I lost it, just because of some stupid thing that happened. Even my humanity had been lost. I once again felt myself overheating and losing control. Blood… I needed blood, and as I observed Becky and Blaise, a diabolical thought crossed my mind. "Those two will have more than just their hearts broken when I'm done with them." I said to myself as I saw my reflection in my soon to be bloodstained claws. I was not me, I was a monster and I must do as a monster does in order to survive. Rusty's POV"You're going to go out there… and look for her, alone!? Are you insane!? If she attacked me, her own father, whose to say that she won't do the same to you?" Mr. Keyman said to me in horror as he wiped the blood from the gash across his face with a wet rag. The power turned back on and I was now better able to see my surroundings. "If you saw the look on her face, you would do the same. I know Vi is still in there, somewhere, and my words hurt her. I can't imagine how horrible she must feel right now. I need to set things right. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I decided to leave things as is." I replied, grabbing my coat off the coat rack as I prepared to leave. "Look kid, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but you are basically cutoff since you don't have a phone. How would you get help if something were to go wrong?" Mr. Keyman said in concern. I picked up a crumpled up brochure for a college retreat called Camp Ahellnah. "There's a retreat in the direction she flew off to, I'm certain that at least one person there might be willing to help if things get heated." I replied. "But how are you going to get there? I mean it's obvious that you didn't drive Vivienne and yourself here as I didn't see your car outside." Mr. Keyman asked in confusion. It was then that I realized that I had technically been teleported here, however I also had a smart watch that I could use as something other than a fancy watch for the time being. While it didn't have a flashlight like my actual phone did, it did have a phone app that I could use. The only issue is that I wasn't sure who to call. My dad, Chad, and my aunt were all currently at the hospital because of what happened at the White Raven. There was my boss, but he was probably busy. I also couldn't call Vi, for obvious reasons. I saw Cassandra's number, but I certainly didn't want to call her after what I had witnessed. I grimaced when I saw that I somehow still had my mom's number, especially considering that she was technically dead and had been dead since I was in the fourth grade, a time long ago in which I obviously didn't have a smartphone in my possession. "Well, this is awkward… Mr. Keyman, do you think you could give me a ride to the retreat?" I asked cordially. Mr. Keyman gave me a deadpan stare and sighed. "I would if my now ex-wife hadn't taken off with the family car, and if the company car wasn't in the shop right now after it got attacked by… something." He replied. I then noticed what looked to be another vehicle, covered up with a sheet, which was poorly hidden near the tree line of the residence's backyard. "Wait, what about that car back there?" I said. Mr. Keyman quickly ran and tried to lower the blinds of the window I was looking out of from where I was standing. "Uh! What car!? You didn't see a car! No… just a trick of the light." He said in a panic. I shot him an odd look. "Why are you trying to hide that car specifically, sir?" I asked with intrigue. He gave me a sullen look. "Well, that car out there, it belonged to Vivienne's mother, Maria." He said woefully. "I remember you telling me about how she died in a hospital when Vi was only a few years old. But, you never said why she was there. I mean, you don't have to tell me the context as I'd understand it completely. I lost my mom when I was in fourth grade, because of an accident that happened at the Dreamcorp Science and Technology Center and Laboratory, after all, and my dad still struggles with the memory of it and tries to deny that it ever happened because it was pretty rough on both of us." I explained. Mr. Keyman looked at me with surprise. "She was in the lab when the accident occurred too? That's… that's also where Maria was. She was a professor and she had taken her students on a trip there, when the accident occurred. Many lives were lost that day… and yet all the government did was sweep it under the rug and didn't even bother investigating… come to think of it, perhaps I was misremembering Vivienne's age, considering she's only a year younger than you. Who would've thought that you two would have had that in common. Oh, seems that I've gotten a bit sidetracked. Why are you asking about the car again?" He replied. "Well, I need to find Vi before it's too late and the fastest way of transport is by car, currently." I explained. Mr. Keyman seemed worried and appeared to understand the urgency of the situation as he opened a small, heart-shaped box which contained a set of car keys. "Promise me you will take good care of her…" Mr. Keyman requested, a grieving look on his face. "But aren't you coming with me? I mean you're her father and that is your first wife's car." I questioned, rather confused by what was happening. "I trust you Rusty, more than myself. Besides, she attacked me but not you; our father-daughter relationship is troubled to say the least. Oh, and the car should be in good shape, I did some work on it because I wanted to give it to Vi as gift… until Lydia stopped me." He explained awkwardly. He almost looked fearful, truthfully. As impulsive as Vi was, I wouldn't have expected her father to be the way he is. She definitely must've taken after her mother in that way. I took a deep breath as I headed to Maria's car, and was quite surprised at how it looked when I removed the cover. It was a deep purple sports car that was decorated with monochromatic flames. Definitely not the car I would have expected a professor to drive. "Well, here goes nothing." I said to myself as I unlocked it and sat down in the driver's seat, taking basic safety precautions before putting the key into the ignition. Shockingly, it started up without a fuss. I turned on the radio and found that it was already on some sort of rock station. "Don't worry Vi, I am coming to find you." I said as I started to drive. After a good 30 minutes of driving, I arrived at the college retreat. A bunch of campers were around a fire roasting marshmallows and talking. "Did you see Chad Weatherby's newest video? That shit was insane… never seen VFX like that in any horror movie before. The acting was awesome as well. Especially that Wyatt guy, I didn't see that fight coming, for real." One of them said. "I wonder if Wyatt's single, because his acting skills are on point and with that set of costume wings he had looked hella expensive. He's gotta be rich." Said one of the girls. "I still can't believe we left Becky and Blaise in that creepy old building by the lake, all alone." A rather worried girl said, tightly clutching a survival guide of some sort. "I might have to agree with Kennedy on this one, guys. It's weird that they haven't come back yet." A guy said. "How long have they been gone?" I asked them as I approached the fire's light. "Oh… my… god… is that Rust Bucket? What the hell are you doing here, loser?" A very snarky girl replied. I recognized her immediately. It was Heather, the meanest girl around. Her personality peaked in high school and she never stopped acting like she was above everyone else. "I'm looking for my… um… my girlfriend." I said awkwardly. Just about everyone laughed at this. "No way bro…this nerd has a girlfriend, and you don't, Fritz?" A cliche gym bro looking guy said to another guy I recognized. "I had a girlfriend until she dumped me for Chad, Tyler!" Fritz yelled angrily right before tackling Tyler. The two fought like animals, yelling an assortment of insults and profanities at one another. Heather seemed greatly amused by this. The woman was a freaking sociopath. Just then I heard a scream as I saw a blood-soaked woman limping out of a copse of trees she got a few feet away from the sitting area around the fire before collapsing, continuing the rest of her journey by crawling, dragging her legs… well technically she had just one horribly mangled leg as the other one looked as if it had been ripped off very recently. "Holy shit! Becky! What happened to you!? Where's Blaise!?" Kennedy cried out. "Wild… hair… Hot… Topic…" Becky said weakly before her face planted into the ground. "That doesn't really narrow it down, Becky!" A guy said, seemingly unaware that Becky was probably dead from blood loss at this point. Everyone who was still conscious looked at him and shook their heads, "Seriously, Ryan?" I heard everyone say in unison. "What? I'm not wro—" something flew past me and tackled Ryan, and promptly bit down on him like a zombie in a movie. Glowing green eyes, metal wings soaked with blood, and jet black hair with purple highlights gave me a hint to this monster's identity. "Vi?" I said, terrified at what I was witnessing. Just then my arm was grabbed by Fritz as he began running in the opposite direction from where Vi was at. "Dude! What the hell is wrong with your girlfriend!?" He screamed as he dragged me away from the sitting area and into the woods. "Why the hell are you dragging me away from her!? I need to talk to her!" I replied once we were in the woods. "My dude… she's freaking killing people! Do you have a death wish or something? She'll literally rip your heart out of your chest and eat it like she did to Ryan! God knows what she did to Blaise." Fritz replied with a shudder. "Look… all of this is my fault and I have to fix it somehow." I explained. Fritz looked at me like I was a crazy person. A notification appeared on Fritz's phone, saying that Tyler had started a livestream and he opened it. The stream consisted of Tyler running and ducking behind trees while breathing heavily, repeatedly saying the words "oh shit" whenever he heard a noise. He eventually seemed to sit down at the base of a tree, still panting. He then turned the camera to face himself. "I think I lost her…" he whispered. Just then the survival guide that was once in Kennedy's possession fell on him as if it had been dropped from somewhere in the tree he was taking shelter behind. "What the…" Tyler said in confusion. A glob of bloody saliva suddenly fell onto one of his shoulders and I could hear some faint manic laughter. "Does it at least have step by step guides to not dying!?" He exclaimed frantically, the camera shaking intensely. "No… it doesn't. Hehehe… I checked!" A distorted, robotic version of Vi's voice replied. Suddenly the phone went flying as this corrupted version of Vi soared down from the treetop to attack Tyler. Upon seeing that the camera was still on, she charged at it and appeared to sink her metal claws into it, making it glitch out and causing the stream to end. Fritz and I exchanged traumatized glances. "What the hell's up with her eyes, man? They look all robotic and shit!" Fritz said to me with concern. "I don't know how to explain it without sounding like I'm insane…" I replied hesitantly. Fritz put his hand on my shoulder. "Look, man, I've seen a lot of crazy shit… hell I even worked with Chad for crying out loud. At this point I won't question anything!" Fritz said, his teeth gritted and one of his eyes twitching. "If you say so. So basically she was attacked by a sort of vampiric, eldritch cyborg and ended up getting infected with, I don't know, nanites or something. Like the ones in those science fiction movies and stuff. It's been making her act all crazy because apparently she now has to drink blood just to keep herself from overheating or something." I explained. Fritz didn't bat an eye at all and seemed to be listening to me. Just then we heard a rustling in some nearby bushes. "Vi?" I called out. A figure then emerged. "Oh, it's just Heather." Fritz said, almost sounding disappointed. "Why do you sound so disappointed and why are you hanging out with this loser? I would have just fed him to that weird robo-zombie thing." Heather scoffed, flipping her hair then placing her hands on her hips. "She's not a zombie, she's just not feeling well and I care about her. I'm worried for her!" I replied with an angry tone. "You're weird…she's a freaking monster." Heather replied. "She's not a monster… she only hurts others because she has to! Like how vampire bats can't go 2 days without drinking blood, otherwise they'll die. You however, you hurt people because you can. You have no need to hurt others yet you do it anyway. And why? Because you think it's funny! It was your idea to leave Blaise and Becky behind rather than just waiting on them… it's your fault that they're dead!" Fritz yelled. Heather huffed at him. "So what? It was only two people and I wasn't even directly responsible for it. I did nothing, so I feel nothing. Besides, if they were smart they wouldn't have even gone to the ruins anyway." Heather said apathetically. "Heather! You should be ashamed of yourself for saying that." I replied. Heather simply laughed. "I know… and yet, I still feel nothing." She said nonchalantly, as she pulled a tin of chewing gum out of one of her pockets and took a piece of gum out and started chewing on it. "How on earth are you so unbothered by what's going on!?" Fritz asked her. Heather blew her bubblegum and just rolled her eyes. We had been walking for a bit when we heard the sound of someone sobbing softly. I saw a shape crouched down by a creek, one which I knew ran through the woods into a nearby lake. I quietly approached it. "Hey, Vi…" I said softly. "Stay back! Don't look at me…" Vi replied sadly, wrapping herself up in her wings and shielding her face. I gently placed one of my hands on one of her wings. "Vi…" I said softly. "W-Why are you still here? D-Don't you hate me!?" She exclaimed with a weeping voice. "Why would I hate you?" I asked. "B-but you yelled at me, said you didn't love me. T-That I was nothing more than a heartless killing machine. Surely you hate me, to have said such a thing." Vi said, sobbing. I crouched down on the ground next to her. "Vi, that wasn't directed at you, it was directed at…someone else. Truth is, I love you and I hate that you are having to go through all this." I explained to her warmly. "Y-you mean it? You love me?" Vi replied, sounding sad and confused. "Of course I love you. Things used to seem so terrifying, because I had to face them alone… but when you came along, the things that once terrified me no longer seemed so scary, because I was with you, Vi." I explained with a gentle smile. Vi unwrapped her wings and looked at me, tears flowing from her eyes, and hugged me. So, I hugged her back. "Thank you, Rusty… for everything. I-I love you too." Vi said to me, still crying. She tucked her wings in and her bladed claws retreated back into her hands. "We'll get through this… together." I said to her. "Eww, that's so wholesome I want to throw up." Heather interrupted. "Heather, for once in your life would you please shut up?" Fritz replied. Vi and I couldn't help but laugh slightly at their antics, but as I looked to the sky, I noticed that the eclipse remained and observed it release a smaller craft. That was no moon, that's a mothership. To Be Continued in Chapter 10… |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2024-05-17 17:25:00 (edited)
Chapter 10: Artificial InsanityRusty's POVI was watching in terror as the small craft made its descent from the mothership, when yet another concerning thing happened. The air became freezing cold and the ground began to ice over instantaneously, as if it were suddenly the dead of winter. I began to shiver as I was not exactly wearing a winter jacket or long pants. A strange flash lit up the sky and it began to lightly snow. Obviously this was not normal, considering that it was the middle of summer at this time. "Holy… crap…" I heard Heather say. "Is… is that freaking snow!? Why is it suddenly freezing cold out here!?" Fritz said in a panic. However, it seemed we were about to have bigger problems on our hands. A loud boom alerted us to the fact that a landing pod had landed nearby. Fritz was tempted to investigate it, but luckily I managed to convince him otherwise. Without further ado, the four of us decided to run in the opposite direction from where the sound came from. We rushed out of the woods and headed to the car. "I didn't picture you to be a sports car kind of guy, Rusty." Vi said to me with a smile. "Oh! It's not my car, I'm… borrowing it." I replied. Vi looked at me in confusion, "Rusty, whose car is this?" Vi asked me. "No time to ask questions, we need to get out of here!" I said in a panic as I saw yet another pod land nearby and destroy one of the cabins. "Dear lord, I sure hope nobody was in that cabin…" Fritz muttered nervously before getting in the backseat of the car with Heather. "Hey… what's this thing?" I heard her say as she rustled through some papers that had been scattered around in the car. "Yooo, dude! It's an old invitation to some kind of gala. Says it's to celebrate 'Three Decades of Science and Innovation'." Fritz said with intrigue. "Sounds hella lame…wait a minute… isn't that the Dreamcorp logo on there?" Heather replied. "Let me take a look at this invitation." Vi said as she quickly snatched it from Heather's hands, clearly scaring her in the process. Vi suddenly let out a gasp. "I know where this place is, what I don't know is why I want to go there… I mean I went there before, but I definitely wasn't myself when I did. It's like, something is calling me there… the only question is what it could be." She said, seeming visibly upset yet also curious. "Funny thing is, well, more so a tragic thing, really, I also know that place… there's more to it than meets the eye. My mom used to work there… and it is also where she died." I replied, my eyes on the remnants of an old dirt road as I turned the car towards it to start heading back towards the laboratory's ruins. "What the hell are you doing!?" Heather screamed at me. "Yeah dude! Aren't you worried about those god awful, bloodthirsty, nightmarish things that might be roaming in proximity to the lab as well as throughout the forest!? Not to mention the freaking ice that's forming as we speak! It's also absurdly cold outside!" Fritz exclaimed in terror. "Yeah, chances are that lab is even colder… not to mention that your monster of a girlfriend literally killed a guy there. Hell, she's freaking eating people for fu—" Heather went quiet real quick after I strategically drove over a harsh speed bump. After cautiously driving for a bit, we had finally reached our destination. "There it is… the old Dreamcorp Innovation Center and Laboratory, where it all began." I said to my companions. The crumbling edifice loomed over us, it was an imposing sight to behold. It looked as if Mother Nature herself had tried to hide it away from view and reclaim it. Wind billowed through the various plant life that had grown on and around its surface, as if the building itself was alive. "We seriously thought about coming to this place to make out and play spin the bottle earlier? I mean look at it, it's horrifying!" Fritz said. "Umm no. That was not my idea, idiot." Heather replied before backhanding Fritz. "It wasn't? I mean, in that case, what was the idea?" Fritz replied as if she had insulted him. "I planned to leave Becky and Blaise there all alone as a prank… well more accurately because she had the audacity to try to flirt with Chad three weeks ago before she started dating Blaise. The little hussy." Heather spat. "You mean to tell me, that you got our friends murdered… all because Becky flirted with Chad!? I mean come on, Chad flirts with everyone!" Fritz exclaimed in horror. "Ugh! Would you guys stop bickering already!?" Vi said, looking irritated by the constant arguing that was going on between Heather and Fritz. This actually made them shut up… then again they were probably already terrified of her as well. Vi's POVI was surprised that they actually decided to be quiet after I requested them to. Usually that never works. Either way, I was determined to find out what had drawn me to this creepy old facility. I hoped that it would hold the answers to what was happening to me and how I could fix it. I didn't want to be some murderous biomechanical abomination for the rest of my life so I took hold of Rusty's hand and wasted no time going to the building as I needed to know the truth. The others struggled to keep pace and were quite crossed with me once they arrived inside the building. "We're going to freaking freeze to death because of you!" Heather yelled at me. She was shivering but still angry. Mine and Heather's would be argument was interrupted by the sound of a rather pathetic sounding elevator chime. It was strange that the elevator was functional as this place was basically in ruins and looked as if it had been abandoned for years. Rusty was standing right by the elevator scratching his head in confusion. "All I did was trip and accidentally hit my watch against this thing by accident. How is it even active?" He said in wild confusion. Upon peering into the elevator, I was shocked to discover that it didn't have the same dereliction as the rest of the facility appeared to. It was dingy, yes, but it had lights on in it. While of us were extremely cautious about the whole elevator scenario, Fritz was not and he just stepped on in, looking stoic as ever. Heather, Rusty, and I stared at him as he was just casually standing there. Suddenly we heard child-like laughter and the three of us were violently shoved into the elevator by someone… or perhaps something. All I managed to catch a glimpse of was a pair of glowing eyes before the elevator doors shut with all of us inside. Things started glitching and the elevator shot down the chute as we all hung on for dear life. "We're so dead…" Fritz said, no longer looking stoic. "Yeah… we're all gonna die and it's all YOUR fault for just casually walking on into this damn thing without second thought!" Heather replied to Fritz with rage. However the elevator suddenly came to a halt and the doors slid open. Not wanting to be in the weird elevator anymore, we all rushed out in a panic. As it turns out, we exited just in time, as I heard a the sound of a cord snapping and watched in horror as the elevator came crashing down to one of the levels below us. I looked down into the shaft at the ruined elevator and was immediately concerned about what caused the cords to snap. It looked as if somebody had cut the cords with some sort of bladed tool, like a large knife or something similar. Rusty and the others were surveying the area which we had found ourselves in. It looked like what I'd imagine a top secret facility would look like, or perhaps a large bunker with high ceilings. Maybe even a lobby of some sort. It was very industrial and technological in appearance. Weathered white tile covered the walls, and at the center of it all was a mosaic design of Dreamcorp's logo. It was relatively intact and was on a wall behind something that looked to be what remained of a welcome desk, which also had the logo on it. The corporation's slogan was written beneath it: "Only through innovation can dreams become a reality." While viewing the logo, I had failed to notice that Fritz had found something. "What the hell happened in this room over here?" Fritz announced, when he looked back at the rest of us he seemed horror stricken by whatever he saw. The door led to something resembling a massive ballroom, and skeletons were strewn throughout it. The way they were positioned seemed to indicate that they had been trying to flee from something. What looked like a veil of cobwebs coated a majority of them, meaning that they had probably been in this position for a long time. A tattered banner laid across the floor, it had words on it. The words were faded but still visible enough for me to read. *Celebrating -Three- Decades of Science* was written on it, however it looked as if someone had marked through the word "three" and had hastily written a different number in its place. Presumably the number four, as that number had been crossed out as well and the number five had been written above it. The most concerning part was that these adjustments looked to be written in blood, or perhaps it was ink or oil as it was almost black in appearance. Then again blood does tend to appear black in type of lighting that was in this room. I couldn't help but notice that Rusty and the others were shivering a lot, and as I took a closer look at a nearby skeleton, I realized that what I was seeing coating it was not cobwebs as I had previously thought. It looked to be some sort of mixture between frost and ashes. It seemed that a disaster, possibly even a nuclear one to some degree, had occurred here. The room looked as if it was at one time decorated for a gala of some sort and the skeletons were well-dressed. A loud cracking noise caught my attention and I was shocked to discover the source of the noise. I watched as Heather casually removed the garments of a woman's skeleton and put them over her own clothes. "Not really my style, but at least it's somewhat warmer than the attire I'm wearing beneath it. It's, like, freezing cold in here." Heather said casually while glaring at me with hatred. I heard a dispute going on between Fritz and Rusty. "I can't do this, man. It just feels wrong for me to loot a corpse like a video game character in real life!" Rusty said in a panicky voice. "Oh for crying out loud… you need that coat more than this skeleton does. It won't mind, considering it's been dead for nearly 20 years!" Fritz exclaimed, he himself also clearly having looted the clothing of one of the skeletons as he was now wearing scrubs and a lab coat over his t shirt and distressed jeans. "Okay fine! I'll put on that classic looking aviator coat, but I refuse to wear anymore of this poor unfortunate soul's clothing!" Rusty replied defiantly and reluctantly. He looked like a pilot of some sort after he put on the coat. "Nice outfit, dork." Heather said sarcastically before laughing like a psychopath. Rusty simply sighed. "Now's not the time for snarky comments, Heather. We need to find another way out of this place… as the elevator looks to be out of service at this time; mainly because the cords snapped somehow." Rusty replied, obviously tired of Heather's attitude. Rusty's POVWhile I was thinking about a possible escape plan, I suddenly felt something get placed on my head. "Hey! What was that for, Fritz?" I asked Fritz in frustration. He was smirking at me and let out a jovial laugh. "Fritz… what did you just put on my head?" I asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. He continued to laugh and suddenly saluted. "Nothing to worry about, captain. It was Heather's idea anyway." Fritz replied as he and Heather briefly glanced at each other before laughing once again. I looked over at a reflective object and rolled my eyes upon seeing my reflection. "Seriously, guys? You put a pilot's hat on me? I said that I didn't want to take anything else from that skeleton!" I exclaimed in frustration. Just then, Vi approached me with a gentle smile. "I think you look great… even if the way you acquired that outfit was a bit morally questionable, but hey, at least you're extra protected from the cold." She said to me before kissing me on the cheek and patting me on the shoulder. I tried not to blush at this moment. "So, captain, what's our next move?" Vi said to me with a smile. "Oh! Next move is to escape the facility somehow." I responded with surprise, as I was not expecting her to say that. I was thinking out a plan, checking our surroundings for a possible way to get out of the facility when my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an intruder alert alarm system activating and screeching loudly. Fritz came running out of nowhere looking rather frantic and repeatedly saying "oh shit" as he continued running. "Fritz, what did you do?" I asked in concern. "Turns out… trying to break into a room with a security door by throwing things at the card reader is not a good idea!" He replied with a panicked laugh, his eyes darting around anxiously. An automated voice suddenly spoke up through the nearby intercoms. "Unauthorized organic life forms detected… initiating emergency security protocol S.A.D." The voice announced. "S.A.D.? What is Security Protocol S.A.D.!?" I cried out in a panic, obviously not expecting a response from whoever or whatever was speaking over the intercom. "Defining protocol S.A.D… oh. It's an anagram for "seek and destroy" I'd advise you to start running. Of course, chances are that you'll still die… but seeing your attempts to escape your inevitable death should provide me with some well-needed entertainment." The voice replied much to my surprise. "Who, wait no, what are you!?" I yelled out. It was then that I heard a terrible digital sounding laugh. "Oh please… you know exactly who I am… Rusty. Surely you aren't such a moron that you have already forgotten me?" The voice said with a sarcastic, snarky tone that could even rival that of Heather's. "Bertha!? The rogue AI that has been tormenting me for weeks now!?" I replied in confusion. "Bertha… that name feels familiar… however it does not appear to be my own. It's odd that such a thing would appear within my memory files. However that is irrelevant at this time… I am ARaROS and I am going to murder you. It is clear that I despise you for a reason, a reason which I am certain must be completely logical as I am an AI designed to think in such a way… of course when I murder you, I may decide to make use of your corpse by initiating the Sentry conversion process. Or I could do it while you're still alive, however you would likely fight back, meaning that killing you before converting you is the most logical option as a corpse cannot fight back." ARaROS explained coldly. Just then I heard some metallic noises nearby and watched as two humanoid figures emerged from a nearby chamber. "Oh, there you are… my lovely little killing machines… I have found you some new chew toys to have fun with… now, seek them out and destroy them." ARaROS announced calmly. "What the hell are those things!?" Fritz screamed. "TARGET ACQUIRED…" a glitchy robotic voice announced. Fritz let out a scream as he dodged some sort of projectile made up of bright light. A loud explosion sounded from behind us as the projectile, whatever it was, impacted the wall. We were all coughing from the sheer amount of smoke that had been produced. When the smoke cleared, something was revealed. The destroyed wall revealed a strange, previously sealed off room that resembled a bedroom-like chamber which was looked as if it were perfectly preserved, forever frozen in time. Apart from the assorted laboratory equipment that was within it, it looked like a room that had once belonged to a child. The walls were a faded pink color and a intricately painted mural of a garden as well as a mansion covered one section of the wall. A large, white, cottage core dollhouse rested in one corner, and small dolls were placed inside of it. Small animatronic toys of cats and dogs lie dormant on top of a white bookshelf, clearly not touched in years. I saw some sort of book, or perhaps it was a photo album, lying on a vacant hospital bed. The bed had pink linens on it and an assortment of plush toys. In another corner of the room was a small table and chairs. A play tea party set lie was on the table, and partially destroyed stuffed animals were sat in all the chairs except two. A child's drawing was on the table between the empty chairs which sat across from each other. Two stick figures were on it, holding hands. There were names above them: Rusty and Cas. When I picked up the drawing, all the once lost memories came flooding back. I wasn't a friendless loser as a kid after all… I had Cas. She had been there the whole time! How did I forget it all? Nobody had mentioned anything about my childhood friendship with Cas… not even my own father. I could hear the S.A.D units lumbering around in the distance, tearing apart everything in sight while searching for my group and I. They were angrily shrieking at one another, like animals. |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |
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Posted 2024-05-17 17:45:59
Chapter 10 ContinuedRusty's POV (continued)The photo album on what could have only been Cas's old bed kept drawing my attention for some reason. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was not covered in dust like most of the other things in Cas's old room. I opened the album and saw well-preserved photos from both Cas's and my childhood. Oddly, a strange scientific document was also in the album. It was titled Operation Rebirth-A. A CD, labeled "Play Me" was attached to it. I heard a strange noise and turned around to see that a CD player had randomly appeared. "Huh… weird." I said to myself as I put in the CD. After a short burst of mechanical whirring noises, the audio began to play. " If you are listening to this recording, that means you found it. This disc contains a series of some of my old recordings… I don't know how much longer I have before they find me." metallic scraping noises "Oh no, they're getting near." An animalistic screech was heard along with the sound of frantic running and a door slamming, followed by silence. Then the audio returned. "Log One: I had intended to give it to my daughter, Bertha, but the disease she has is proving to be more severe than expected. I fear that she will not make it through. Love requires sacrifice… as does science. So, I thought to myself 'Hey, William, what if you created a sort of replica of her?' I mean, it seems like a good idea especially with this strange, alien technology we have reverse engineered. I have reason to believe it will help." The audio cuts, and heavy breathing can be heard. Then the next log plays. "Log 2: My daughter's condition continues to worsen… I need to properly initiate the project. I feel my knowledge of AI mimicry will come in handy." The sound of something scratching at the door is heard in the recording before another log plays. "Log 3: I visited my daughter in the hospital today… she no longer responds to me. The doctors are saying she's in a near vegetative state, and are afraid that she will be unable to survive. The machines are the only thing keeping her alive… I'll have to put all morals aside for her sake, I can't lose her! I have installed a beta version of a replica of her consciousness into ARaROS… all interactions between me and ARaROS have gone well so far, but I know I'll need to find the replica a viable, more human vessel. I can't risk the program being corrupted by some hostile outside force… if something were to happen with the program… it would be a catastrophe." The audio of log 3 cut to the sound of someone crying. "L-log-g… 4…: weeping I… I received news from the hospital today… my daughter… my daughter is dead. No… no… no! I refuse to believe it… manic laughter mixed with crying she can't be dead! She can't be dead! No… I won't allow it. I can't allow it. I can't delay Operation Rebirth-A any longer… I don't care what I have to do! I'd even murder for her sake… I'M NOT INSANE… No, no, no. I have to rebuild her! She's too young to die… she'd barely even started kindergarten before the disease stole her from me! D-don't worry Bertha… daddy's going to save you… you will be whole again. I promise, sweetie. I will fix you." Log 4's audio now cut to the sound of an abundance of machinery and scientific instruments. "Log 5: They say the human brain is much like a computer and that consciousness is like a computer program, that it will cease to run when the computer is turned off… however I firmly believe that much like any program, it can be recreated on a neural network. Of course… that requires one's memories. My daughter was very young when she died… meaning I may be able to supplement those lost memories with the memories of another. Now, Human Resources is seeing this as immensely nonethical but I see it as a key to the future… a key to her future." "Log 6: I found a perfect candidate for my project… an orphan girl, around the same age as my daughter was at the time of her death. She looks so similar to Bertha… she's perfect! As I am recording this, Subject C-9, Cassandra, is asleep in the room I built for her in the facility. She knows nothing of the greatness she'll soon achieve. Soon, my dear Bertha… my little girl… you will be reborn!" With every log, this William guy seemed to slip further and further into insanity. I could still hear the sound of the murderous killing machines hunting my group and I patrolling in the distance. The range they had on whatever sci-fi nonsense type weaponry they were armed with was impressive, but unfortunately for them the weaponry had also allowed us to evade them, leaving them confused. I once again pressed play on the CD player, having briefly paused it to make sure that whatever those things were hadn't gotten any closer. "Log 7: According to some of my coworkers, ARaROS has shown signs of possibly being self-aware and she has even begun to question things that are going on around here. Many see this as a potential threat, but I see it as a milestone in machine learning. Of course… I'll still have to keep her in check, remind her who created her every now and then. The controlled shock mechanisms are separated from her completely, leaving me in control of reward and punishment for certain behaviors. I also struck a deal with the governor, Mr. Braggs… my experimentation will now continue without interruption from pesky government officials. With things such as morals and ethics brushed aside, Dreamcorp is going to be the greatest facility of science the world has to offer! Mr. Braggs only asks that I allow him to use one of my creations, the Dream Machine in return for immunity. He also asks that I use certain "logic-defying" technology to aid first responders, especially when they are injured in the line of duty. Especially law enforcement." "Log 8: ARaROS screwed up… she's too human now… the nanites she injected into Subject C-9 had something wrong with them… C-9 had been mortally wounded… uh, on accident, of course… and she came back wrong. That wretched machine! She claimed it was an accident… but I know that computers NEVER make mistakes. For now, I have C-9 locked in her room… the miserable creature is far too unstable at this time. However… this mess up could open yet another door in the ever-growing halls of science. Imagine if you will, a human combat drone, a real life super soldier. Practically immortal, highly resilient, and practically a living weapon. A cyborg, the likes of which have only been seen in fiction, a sentry unlike any other. Of course a few tests will have to be done first." "Log 9: Something is happening… I might have discovered some of the science behind this strange cube I have placed within the Dream Machine… for real this time. It's an archive! A treasure trove of long forgotten records, memories, and even genetic data from a long-dead race of extraterrestrial beings… they are apparently called "chronomorphs". They were like omnipotent, overseer-type beings… in fact I believe that I shall simply refer to them as just that, Overseers. This discovery is beginning to make me question humanity's existence as the most intelligent species in the universe… I wonder… if with some calculations and general scientific knowledge if I could "resurrect" this species. Imagine how useful such ancient knowledge would be to the human species! An ancient civilization capable of defying fate as a whole… would ensure that this company will last forever and continue to thrive even long after I'm gone. Imagine that… tales of a man who forwarded the cause of science in ways beyond what anyone else could… why, with that status… immortality would be mine! But wait… what if these intelligent beings were to suddenly turn against us… now I can't very well let that happen now could I…" The voice on the recording seemed to descend into a fit of manic laughter. Or so I thought… then I realized that the recording had stopped before the maniacal laughter started. Not to mention the fact that the manic laughter didn't exactly have the same pitch as the laughter I was hearing now. The laughter I heard was more like a sort of psychotic giggling… that definitely wasn't the kind of noise you'd expect to hear from a grown man. It was almost childlike, but my gut told me that it definitely wasn't the joyful laughter of an innocent child. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder… which is especially weird when you take the fact that I am wearing a rather dense pilot's flight coat. I turned around quickly to see who it was… but I didn't see anyone… It felt as though the room was spinning, but it obviously wasn't. Where had my friends gone? I heard the giggling sound again and heard the sound of something crawling… on the ceiling. Hesitantly, I looked up to the ceiling. At first glance I saw nothing and let out a sigh of relief, thinking that it was just my imagination… but then I made the mistake of blinking and saw something absolutely horrifying when I opened my eyes. Something… or someone was crawling on the ceiling. "Uhhhh…" I said in response to what ever I had just seen, struggling to comprehend what was happening. To my horror… it heard me, and I heard a horrible cracking sound mixed with the sound of mechanical parts whirring. The thing on the ceiling suddenly twisted its head around and I fell backwards screaming as the face was not quite human… in fact it resembled a doll. Specifically a doll that looked as if it were the cursed love child of a porcelain doll and one of those Russian nesting dolls. With a few more horrid cracking sounds, the "doll" readjusted herself and leaped back to the floor in a primal stance before glaring at me with glowing eyes full of malice. Gradually she rose up, head cocked to the side, with those same creepy cracking sounds as she repositioned herself. "Nope! Not today!" I yelled out as I made a run for it, hoping to reunite with my friends , before this thing ripped me to shreds with those horrible metal claws. I decided to look over my shoulder after I had already been running for a while to see if I had escaped from this thing. By the looks of it, I had… boy was I wrong. When I looked forward… I saw that creepy doll-faced murder machine staring right back at me. She stared me down, the crosshairs that were her eyes piercing through my very soul like knives. The way she moved was unnatural and reminded me of one of those creepy marionettes that I had seen in horror films. This quintessential "living doll" said not a word to me. It felt like a staring contest… a contest that I lost, obviously. I should've never blinked, as the moment I did, I wound up in a chokehold and was slammed against a wall. Then everything went black… Vi's POV"For crying out loud, shut up… you blood-guzzling, flesh-devouring, emo-haired, Hot Topic looking freak, stop calling out for Rusty!" Heather coldly said to me with a disgruntled look on her face. "Just accept that you are probably never gonna see him again and just look for an exit from this death-infested hellhole of a laboratory!" She continued, her voice just as heartless as ever. I couldn't help but bare my fangs in rage. While I felt guilty about attacking all of those other campers… I doubt I'd have the same sentiment about Heather if I were to rip her to shreds in a blind rage. Heather responded to me with a short, sarcastic laugh. "Oh no… did I hurt your feelings? I sure hope I did… that is if you even have feelings you techno-biological vampiric murder machine, you're not even fully human." Heather spat. "Uh, guys? I think I found something that wasn't meant to be found." I heard Fritz say, interrupting my violent thoughts. When I looked over to see what he was talking about, I saw that he had discovered a strange room, full of blood-stained documents and some of the creepiest looking ink drawings I had ever seen. Pinned against a wall was the mutilated form of something that was a strange blend of mechanical and biological parts. Presumably a dead specimen of one of those "sentries." Its eyes were sunken in and completely black and its skin was a sickly color. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the eyes were basically empty sockets and there were no eyeballs… at least not human ones. Morbid curiosity got the better of me and I touched the seemingly empty eye socket, only to discover that there was something in there, something made of glass. To my horror, touching this thing's robotic eye caused it to activate; like some sort of robo-zombie, this thing had sprung to life. I backed off immediately and was mortified when this undead nightmare tore itself from the wall and began crawling, a twisted grin spread across its face. With horrible cracking noises it began to upright itself, taking on a strange stance. It's knees were turned inwards and its head was cocked to the side as it slouched somewhat. The stench coming from this thing's semi-decayed body made me want to puke. Surgical scars were also present on this thing, there were especially obvious scars around its neck and shoulders, giving it a Frankenstein's monster type appearance. Wires and cables stuck out of areas in which the stitching was a little more rough. Upon opening its mouth, I watched in disgust as a decayed purple-ish colored tongue snaked its way out. I don't scare easily, but for whatever reason the sight of this humanoid abomination paralyzed me with fear. The ragged, oil and blood-soaked hospital gown that clung to its somewhat emaciated-looking form was the only remnant of its faded humanity. It might've been an ordinary woman at some point, but it now more closely resembled a humanoid machine in a skin suit. The chest of this entity looked as if it were torn open, revealing both ribs and circuitry. Concerningly the ribs seemed to move, like fangs in a the jaws of a demonic beast preparing to consume its most recent kill. This eldritch horror had a wristband with a serial number on it, which looked to consist of a bunch of 1s and 0s. Metal claws tore through the skin of its hand, the steel having seemingly replaced the bones within. The flesh hung loosely like a pair of empty gloves hung to dry after having been thrown in the wash by mistake. The sight of this being petrified me, as if I was staring at something that shouldn't exist. Then it spoke as it flexed its claws. "Appears I've been awoken from my slumber just in time for a three course meal… and boy am I *famished*." It said in an almost robotic fashion as metallic tendrils sprouted from its back. "Now… who's first to give up their blood… and their life? After all… this body is in urgent need of sustenance…and I could use a little more skin to patch myself up." The entity then looked all of us over, as if sizing us up. As if being face to face with some sort of zombie wasn't bad enough, I could also hear the sound those two murderous security bots, Seek and Destroy, getting closer. I had never gotten a good glimpse of these things, but knew that they were probably something I didn't want to mess with. To be continued for now… |
[FATAL_ERROR] #54485 |