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=O Brave little scrub. Good thing Nedd didn't tear his face off. Lady... that is a gay name. No offense. Why didn't Lady go into the basement if that's where Nedd went? Not trying to critisize but I just wanted to ask. All in all good chapter. I'm just waiting for the next chapter.
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The doors were shut. Maybe I should've mentioned that... o.o
This crack-indused chapter was made possible by countless doses of stress, homework, school, and blood tests.
You've made me what I am today, thank you very much.
I am aware that this chapter is confusing. This is for me to be angry about.
Strong language was used. It seemed only necessary.
---
In the end, Durc ended up sending three seperate patrol squadrons into the basement: his own squad, which Dan was a part of, a smaller squad with gas masks and anti-bacterial suits who would enter the more dangerous rooms, and a squad with attack slogs who would attempt to sniff out the perpetrator. They went their separate ways and abruptly vanished into the gloom, leaving only wet footprints behind.
<~{.epidemic.}~>
Dan was surprised. He had always thought that the basement would be an evil place with black walls and scattered with dead bodies (or at least zombies), but he was wrong. The basement looked like every other floor on the airship, only it was dark, wet, and smelled like decay. It was disappointing. Dan had always hoped that venturing into the basement would give him certain bragging rights, but now he wasn’t so sure.
“Well,” Durc sighed as he stroked Lady’s head, “Here we are.” he didn’t sound frightened at all. The same couldn’t be said for the rest of the group.
This place looks like some sort of hell hole, an intern next to him muttered dully, twirling his snoozi. Dan recognized him as Red, an intern with bloodshot eyes who used to work for the chemical division of the ship. He was a rather depressing fellow. Standing next to him was Ian, an intern who was practically Red’s shadow, Hal, an intern who was usually too drugged up to say anything but was damn useful with a snoozi, and Jub, who was shaking as much as he always did.. There were five other people there whom Dan didn’t recognize.
Durc stepped into the darkness without even a passing glance and flicked on his flashlight. Lady trotted ahead of the group, trying to pick up a scent in the wet air, but to no avail. “Okay, so here’s the plan,” Durc said. “You see someone who’s not a member of our squads. You shoot at them. We get on with our lives. Questions?”
Dan didn’t like the plan, but he wasn’t one to complain. He frowned and followed behind the rest of the group, deep in thought.
He hadn’t seen Nedd in days, not since he had gone into the basement. Dan had always figured that Nedd was simply having a bad day and wanted to go somewhere where he could cool off. But now, with the news of a cylonite-infected intern loose on the grounds and the kitchen raid, Dan was getting different ideas. What if Nedd had something to do with all the strange occurrences? What would they do to him if it
was him?
Dan sighed and caught up with his group, trying to detract himself from his questions.
A musty smell like upturned soil hung in the crisp, frigid air. The only sounds that broke the silence was dripping water, footsteps against the soggy floorboards, and the buzz of a nearby intern’s headphones as they blasted heavy metal. Dan looked from side to side with each passing hall, constantly alert for anything that could jump out and attack.
A scent wafted in the air that made Dan freeze. It was horrible and familiar, a bitter, metallic smell that stung his eyes. Durc put a claw up against his mouth in the ‘hush’ pose. Everybody fell silent, slowly brandishing their desired weapon. The lead vykker pushed open a door and recoiled as the stench overwhelmed them like an avalanche. The floor of the room was covered in gore and bones that were kept wet from the humid air. Mixed in with the carnage was an array of shimmering glass and a clear, cream-colored liquid: formaldehyde.
Durc bent down and picked out a small, hard fragment that was nested in the gristle. He turned it over in his claws, looking distraught.
“A slog tooth.” he muttered, shaking his head. Lady shrank away from the door, whimpering. “This used to be a slog.”
Dan stared at the floor in pure repulsion. The body had been mutilated so badly that it completely covered the floor, smearing it a ruddy scarlet. No mere slog fight could cause that much damage.
Durc continued down the hall with a wave of his hand, suddenly uninterested. “Come on.” He grumbled darkly. The team followed behind, huddled closer than ever before, their eyes shifting in the dark.
The basement became more and more appalling as they continued their search. Broken glass littered the floor. Bones were piled up in corners. Medical tools, shaped like twisted weapons of torture, glinted evilly in the flashlight’s glow. By the time they reached the heart of the basement water was up to their ankles, sloshing under their feet with each step. Durc held Lady in his arms to keep her from getting wet, looking distressed. Ian yawned.
This is getting nowhere. He complained, kicking aside a jar that was resting nearby.
Red leaned against a wall and crossed his awkwardly-bent legs.
How do we know that the guy we’re looking for is even down here? I bet that stupid slog couldn’t find him even if it---
A pale streak shot past the team and slammed Red to the ground, suffocating him under its weight. The water boiled as Red fought for his life under the biggest, ugliest slog Dan had ever seen. It had blotchy skin the color of maple syrup and jaws that spread monstrously wide, flashing serrated shark-like teeth.
Red! Ian cried, diving in to the fray. He pried the crazed slog off of the struggling intern and a bullet screeched through the air, striking it dead. It fell limply at Ian’s side, coloring the water an ailed red.
Durc flourished his snoozi and pointed it at Red, who was soaking wet and breathing heavily. Red’s eyes widened and he stepped back, his hands out in front of him as though to block an attack.
He’s gone crazy! Red hissed, backing up against the wall.
“Did the slog bite you?” Durc demanded, sounding frantic. Red shook his head. “Did it scratch you?” Red shook his head again. Durc sighed and sheathed his snoozi, eyes hazy. He turned to the group, who looked stupefied at his sudden outburst.
“That,” Durc said, motioning towards the dead slog, “Was a highly infectious, highly dangerous cylonite slog.”
Jub jerked involuntarily.
But I thought only an intern was supposed to be infected...
Durc rolled the slog over with his foot. It toppled to its side, blood splashing from the wound in its head. Dan stared. Was it just him, or did it have holes in its neck that resembled intern teeth?
Durc said in a voice that sounded worn out, “Lets get out of the water, shall we?” But he didn’t draw on the fact that a practically rabid slog had just tried to maul them.
They stepped out of the ankle-deep puddle of water, their legs sloshing with each unsteady step. Lady whined and nudged Durc’s leg with her snout, wanting to be picked up, but she was ignored.
Durc said quietly, “I have a feeling we’re dealing with something much worse than we thought.”
<~{.epidemic.}~>
‘How dare they come to this place.’
He was unconscious of what he was had done, what he was doing, what he was about to do. Dismemberment was easy. Undoing it was hard. Facing it, he knew in the back of his head, would be impossible, unbearable, worth killing over and over and over again for. His eyes were red with pain and his breath made a hollow, ragged sound. He spotted his target. He was standing alone, his blitz packer clattering in his hands like an angry hornet. His butchered comrades lay silent at his sides. The slig whispered,
“Hello?”
And a startlingly sickening voice, like somebody who had never spoken before, replied harshly,
‘I... am here...’
<~{.epidemic.}~>
A scream, sounding as though it had come from far away, echoed eerily down the narrow passage. Dan whirled around. His eyes reflected his horror like small, golden pools.
Did you hear that?
The question was pointless; it was obvious that everyone had heard it. Durc flourished his lil’ hacker, twirling it effortlessly in his claws. He rapped out orders, his voice surprisingly calm.
“Get in a line, follow me, and keep your head down. Grab a weapon and prepare to shoot like a lunatic.”
They left the hall at a brisk pace, weaving through the labyrinth of corridors with a hushed silence. They had no idea where they were, but one thing was for certain; if they stopped moving it would surely get them, whatever
it was. Dan’s hand reached for his snoozi every time something rustled in the dark, and he had to strain his brain to keep calm. One slip, one out-of-place sound, could facilely give them away.
A faint slosh came from behind. Durc raised his little hacker, whispering,
“Look behind you.”
Dan turned his flashlight, his hands shaking, towards the pathway behind them.
Something sped through the light and vanished
“There’s something back there,” a slig said anxiously, cramming a cartridge clip into the back of his gun. Durc swung around and shushed him.
“Keep quiet.”
Lady growled viciously, swaying her bulk from side to side like a caged lion. Durc stiffened.
“Lady.” He called. “Get back here!”
Lady advanced a few steps, warily sniffing the air with her enlarged nostrils. Then, as if deciding that there was no threat, she darted forward so as to be friendly with the newcomer. Durc cursed and let her go: he wasn’t about to advance into the darkness alone. Lady was quickly consumed by the empty void, and her loud footsteps were drown out. Durc motioned for the team to follow before retracing his steps in search of his ignorant pet. Dan muttered,
Maybe its just another squad?, but he spoke too soon.
Droplets of blood began to materialize on the floor, glinting banefully as they walked past. The drops soon grew to splashes, and the splashes grew to puddles.
Durc quailed like a cornered meep and whispered, “Lady?”
Dan stopped and examined the blood. Smear marks as thick as tire tracks stained the floor, as though somebody had run through it. He looked up slowly, perplexed, as the bloodshed lead them to a large chamber that seemed to serve no purpose. The ceiling was spider-webbed with rafters five feet thick that dangled haphazardously only a few dozen feet above their heads. In the middle of the room was Lady, blood dripping from her mouth and nostrils from internal bleeding. She tried to stand up, but staggered to the side instead. Something had slammed into her and broke her ribs without breaking the skin, but how?
“L-Lady!” Durc cried, running forward. A slig yanked him back roughly.
“I don’t like the sight of this. It looks like a trap.” Muttered the slig.
“But my slog!” Durc whined. “Lady! We can’t just
leave her there!”
The argument heated up abruptly, but Dan wasn’t paying attention. He shone his flashlight on the wall, squinting against the dim light. Something glittered back at him, dark and messy.
‘Is that blood?’ He wondered, looking at the long streaks. They seemed to go up the wall... and into the rafters. Dan stiffened in horror.
“Fine,” The slig relented. “We’ll get the stupid animal. But after that we have to get out of here.”
Durc sped into the chamber to grab Lady—
DON’T! Dan warned, running in after him. Durc picked up Lady gently, lovingly, and she softened under his grasp. Dan skidded to a hault...
And then: pain. Colors bursting through his skull like fireworks. His collarbone nearly snapping under an impenetrable weight. Dan was slammed against the wall by what felt like a freight train. Bullets filled the air, startled cries followed. Dan felt whoever had grabbed him lower him carefully to the floor before taking off in the opposite direction. Dan tried to get to his feet, but instead of standing he felt a splitting sensation in his stomach, as though his insides had turned to liquid fire. He collapsed to his knees and looked weakly to his side.
Blood and guts were being thrown in the air like confetti by a monster. When the downpour subsided and the figure swung around, Dan realized who it was, and felt as though the world had come crashing down on him. His eyes rolled back and he fell with a loud thump. The screeching of bullets subsided at last.
Dan felt somebody lightly turn him over. Dan tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids fluttered instead. A voice asked,
You okay, man?
Dan forced himself to look up. His vision watered momentarily before revealing Red, his headphones gone and his face bruised, kneeling close by. Red looked fearfully over his shoulder and said venomously,
He got Ian. I swear, if I ever see that bastard again, I’ll kill him. He looked down at Dan sadly.
It was Nedd. He’s gone ballistic. I tried to shoot him, but he was too fast...
Dan sat up and rubbed his head. The chamber was as dispiriting as a morgue, illuminated only by Red’s flashlight. Dan could feel a river of something hot and sticky sopping the floor. He looked around wildly, spotting limp bodies silhouetted in the darkness. They were bleeding profoundly, soaking the entire tile flooring. Dan shakily rose to his feet. Red followed.
Where did... he go? Dan asked. He was so horror-stricken that he couldn’t bring himself to say Nedd’s name. Red looked around.
That way, He said, pointing off to the side.
He dragged Ian off with him. He turned his attention to the dead bodies, and turned one over with his foot. It was the body of Jub, his stomach torn to tatters and his eyes red and glassy. Red murmured,
I thought I could trust Nedd. I thought he was a good guy. He was a coward Why would he ever do this?
He wouldn’t, Dan replied quietly. After a thoughtful pause Dan added,
We need to get out of here.
They left the room hastily, wandering the corridors like mice in a maze. Red kept his eyes focused on the ground without saying a word. The soggy floor splashed under their feet and Dan’s insides ached, as though something was punching him in the stomach with brass knuckles. A faint light shimmered ahead, a teal blue that rippled like light passed through water. Red looked up.
This must be the cooling system, he said quietly.
We’ll be safer there.
They entered a square-shaped door in the wall that was barely tall enough to fit through. Dan looked around in awe at the watery, underground mote that wound its way around the thin wall separating it from the generator system.
Look, Dan muttered, gazing over the edge of the protective wire.
Its like a river–
IAN! Red yelped, jumping back.
Nedd had Ian in a strangle hold and was slamming him against a wall, slowly suffocating him. Ian kicked and struggled, putting up an impressive fight, but to no avail. Nedd hardly seemed to notice Dan and Red standing there, watching in horror as one of their friends fell victim to his mindless killing.
Nedd! Dan exclaimed.
Nedd’s head snapped up, locking Dan with his imposing gaze. Dan was smart enough to guess what was wrong.
‘Cylonite,’ He thought darkly. ‘Why oh why had they ever even
considered studying it?’
Dan backed up instinctively, repulsed. The whites of Nedd’s eyes were blood red, a startling contrast to his dark brown irises and diamond-shaped pupils. He looked startlingly thin, like a starving animal, and his mouth had been practically gored, revealing his vertical jaws. He had bruise-colored stretch marks on his arms and legs; his bones and muscles were growing faster than his skin, pulling it to its limit. Nedd stared at Dan and Red, his horns flat against his head defectively. Finally Red broke free of his hypnotic stare and snarled,
Let Ian go!
Ian’s eyes rolled back into his skull and his feeble kicking subsided. Nedd didn’t even look. Red stared on in alarm, his face a mask of horror.
Ian?
Nedd, Dan breathed, sounding exhausted. Nedd didn’t even blink.
You don’t have to do this. Let Ian go.
There was a pause. Nedd stared down at Ian as though he just noticed him. Dan continued,
Just let him go. The secrets out. You’re infected. But we can help you.
There was a horrible pause. Then, as if finally deciding, Nedd dropped Ian. He fell limply to the floor. His head rolled. His eyes closed. Nedd backpedaled quickly, looking at his crimson-tinted hands in panic. Red ran over and shook Ian gently, staring at him with a look of dread.
Nedd, too preoccupied with realization, muttered
“I didn’t kn---”
Durc sprang out from a doorway and tackled Nedd to the floor, slashing away at him with his lil’ hacker.
“YOU KILLED MY SLOG!” He screamed, diving the weapon into Nedd’s face. “
I’LL KILL YOU FOR THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”
They grappled on the floor in a tumbling mass, slashing away at each other every chance they got. Durc, seeing as he was an experienced officer, managed to hack away at Nedd while avoiding his attacks. Unfortunately for Durc, Nedd was a raving berserker, and was practically immune to pain. Dan looked around frantically, unsure of what to do. Either way, one of them was going to die, and Dan was helpless to prevent it.
He ran back off into the basement and searched a nearby room, looking for anything he could use as a weapon without killing anybody. He grabbed a shovel (‘What the hell is this doing here?’) and zipped back to the cooling system as quick as a flash. Ian was awake, and both him and Red were backed up against the fence, terrified. The fight showed little progress as Durc and Nedd were of equal strength and speed.
‘What should I do, what should I do, what should I do?!’
He quickly made a decision, though he regretted it. He ran over, gave an exaggerated battle cry to boost his morale, and smacked Nedd across the face with the shovel as hard as he could.
Nedd lost his grip and fell back, twitching. Dan felt a sudden flush of pity; not for Durc and not for Ian, but for Nedd. Durc laughed in triumph.
“For Lady!” he howled, raising the little hacker over his head.
STOP! Dan snapped. Durc swung around, and stared straight down the barrel of Dan’s snoozi. Dan motioned with the weapon, warning Durc to step away.
“Are you threataning me?” Durc snarled. Dan’s face fell as he realized he was pointing a gun at his boss. He held it out nonetheless, his face blank. Durc stepped away from Nedd and threw his lil’ hacker and snoozi aside, looking, quite frankly, pissed. “There. Now put the gun down.”
Dan new better than to do that. Durc sighed and whipped out his flashlight.
“Okay, look, I’m leaving. Don’t shoot. Okay?”
Dan nodded. Durc flicked on the light and cautiously left the cooling system, looking back over his sholder as if expecting Dan to fire at any second. Dan didn’t lower the gun until Durc’s footsteps gradually faded away.
Nedd groaned and rose, his eyes murky. Suddently his pupils swivelled, and Nedd shot Dan a look of loathing so intense that it made Dan wince. A ragged gash ran across Nedd’s left eye and down his face in a zig-zag. Dan muttered quickly,
Nedd, your eye is cut. It could get infected. If we don’t do something, it’ll go blind... if you’ll just let me—
“GET OUT!” Nedd roared, his jaws snapping shut like a steel trap. They didn’t need to be told twice. Dan, Red, and Ian sped off into the basement guided only by their flashlight, leaving Nedd alone in the cooling system.
<~{.epidemic.}~>
Ian whispered a brief thanks.
I thought he was gonna kill me... I would’ve never thought that Nedd would do something like that...
He was infected. Dan said, wincing in pain as his stomach groaned.
With cylonite. It wasn’t his fault.
Red rolled his eyes in disbelief, but he didn’t say anything. Ian blinked at Dan strangely.
You okay? You look kinda sweaty.
Dan rubbed his face, feeling beads of water forming on his forehead.
Its nothing. He said.
When Nedd slammed into me back there, I think he bruised my stomach, but I’m okay.
And suddently, unexpectantly, his vision flashed red. A screech echoed in his ears, a metallic taste filled his mouth, and he felt his bowels jerk as though they had split in half.
Red shrugged.
If you say so... Dan?
And suddently there was nothing exept a few brief words that faded into Dan’s brain like a rock vanishing into an ocean.
Dan? DAN!
).
