38. Fusion : Reunited
Running through the corridors all I could see were the walls dripping with blood pooling over the ground. It wouldn’t stop. Why wouldn’t the wounds stop bleeding. They refused to clot. Such simple wounds. An ordinary person would’ve survived such injuries but these refused to heal. She was suffering all over again. She was in this place alone. I had to reach her. Before it was too late. I couldn’t fail again.
Running over the slippery surface a malnourished fallen took attention to me. Stumbled forward with atrophied muscles it fell after receiving a bone crushing swing. There could be no delay. She was in agony. Something had to be done. There would be only one chance. Rounding corners deeper and deeper into the maddening facility her screams echoed around the corners guiding me.
Running forward the screams stopped. Continuing on rounding corner after corner my pace slowed to a jog before I ceased moving entirely. Breathing heavily staring into the darkness ahead I focussed trying to pick up anything at all that would lead me to her. The blood ceased to flow and left the corridor as my body recovered. Any trace of her disappeared. She was still here though. Deep down I could feel that she was still alive.
Taking a more protective stance I walked forward with sights steady. I wouldn’t fall before being given the chance to say goodbye. Going deeper still into the facility I descended into the depths of the earth. Every flight of stairs carried me further down. The corridors saw themselves being built with more reinforcement to resist the crushing weight of the soil above. Clearing another corner I saw a long hall flanked by observation windows.
Looking through the windows I saw a massive cavern filled with mutated life which the corridor cut through. Vines traced the windows following my movement alongside me snaking along trying to find an entry point. Fleshy leaves creating bowls slapped together trying to ensnare whatever irritated them. One finding luck in trapping a fallen which was quickly immobilised as the plant drew the body into itself.
Throughout the biodome creatures flashed by the windows to quickly take cover in the undergrowth. One unlucky creature not fast enough being snatched into the air by a winged humanoid figure looking as if to be one of the fallen with a scythed tail. With incredible agility it launched back towards the top of the biodome settling upside down on the caged roof ripping into its prey.
Coming to the end of the corridor I found myself at a small control room. With no exit other than the way I came looking to the side was a bulkhead leading into the biodome. The door whispered her voice as I approached. Seeing the lock disengaged and pulling the handle down the door creaked open slowly to emit the sounds of the desecrated forest. Chittering, whistling, gurgling and clacking predominated the air as the ambience of death throughout the unnatural mist.
Stepping into the room I followed her whispers as the door jammed itself wide open. Creeping through the sickly green knee high algae grass I rustled forward scanning my front for anything that dared to try stop me from reaching my objective. A rustling to my left followed by an erratic clackering. Leaping forward a twisted chitinous beast resembling a dog on two legs charged snapping serrated clapper claws.
Firing into the creature saw little effect as the edge of it’s claw sailed through a section of my leg. Coming around again for a more lethal strike another hail of fire brought it down. The forest went silent apart from the creaking of the warped trees. Looking down to my leg it bleed slightly from a minor flesh wound as the forest came to life again menacingly. The sounds became more ambient but far more threatening as the creatures communicated only when they had to. The entire biodome could smell fresh blood.
With a slight limp picking up the pace I headed for the side of the biodome. Carelessly advancing forward stepping into one of the bowl plants seen before the fleshy leaves went to rip me inside of it. Diving to the side as it contracted to close vapour came off my boot as the leather rapidly degraded. Pressing on another creature came forward with tormented wailing. It’s cancerous body bustling with coral structures growing in clusters emitting thick red gas as it’s appendages came crashing down accompanied by distorted pained wails.
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Moving forward another creature joined the pursuit. It’s mouth hung wide open as if it were constantly trying to scream. With no limbs it furiously threw its body about propelling itself at a frightening rate producing a sickening smell. Above the winged fallen circled to dive slashing it’s scythed tail at the coral creature only to be caught in the red gas falling to the ground shrieking. It’s body rapidly dissolving as the microbial mist consumed the winged fallen alive with a sickening crackling creating tiny coral growths on what flesh remained.
Running forward as quickly as possible more of the clapper claws joined the fray tearing into the corral creature immune to its microbial mist. Their claws drifting through its flesh without resistance it eventually fell leaving them to feast on the coral growths. Hiding in some undergrowth found it quickly contracting with thorned vines ripping into flesh. Cutting my way out bleeding slightly more sent the forest into more of a frenzy as the blood trail coated the ground.
Another creature broke through a tree. With an earth shattering roar the nightmare made of many creatures now unidentifiable began tearing into the clapper claws with various appendages, pulling in the corpses with tendrils from it’s chest feasting as it slaughtered. A goo ahead fell from a tree engulfing a malnourished fallen drowning it before it rapidly dissolved.
With my sanity fleeting with every horror sighted I looked forward to see another door. The whispers came from it as well. She was there. She was in there I knew it. So close now. One last horrible gurgling emitted throughout the chamber. A creature with skin of pure black, blue bioluminescent sacks propelled by three grotesque tentacles with its top covered in scythe wielding tendrils charged toward me. Unlike the other creatures it ignored everything focussing on me entirely.
Running forward as quickly as my legs would carry me reaching the door desperately pulling the massive bulkhead open until I could slip in. Turning round to shut it the beast was about to slam into me as I tugged at the door trying to shut it. Building up momentum the door drifted back as a few tendrils came around the doorframe shearing them off as it slammed shut.
Leaning against the door facing it to catch my breath I felt teeth sink deep into my shoulder. Throwing the creature to the side looking back I saw the room filled with countless malnourished fallen shambling over towards me. The hoard went throughout the room with no end but her voices were just in the room ahead. She was so close. The end was so close.
Charging through the hoard knocking the weakened creatures to the ground the hands began taking hold of my back slowly accumulating. Fewer fallen were knocked down by my advance as I began flailing around trying to knock them back now momentum was failing me. Another set of teeth sank into the suit working down the armor. Two more chewed at my boots desperate for a meal.
Wading through the withering corpses the suits armor began to give way allowing their teeth to sink into such revitalising flesh. Each of the fallen that tasted blood sent itself into a frenzy desperate for more nourishment. Bringing me to hands and knees I crawled forward as the hoard continued to feast. Looking up I saw the end of the shroud of bodies.
Giving every ounce of willpower fighting the pain of being eaten alive I pressed through to the other side kicking off those still latched on gnawing at me. Getting to my feet just to collapse through the door with blurred vision I saw a pool of gelatinous fluid turning back to a blood red in the center of the room illuminated by a bright overhead light.
I was too late. She had already disintegrated. She was gone again. With chunks gone from sections of my body my blood joined the pool that she once commanded. Falling flat on my face the shuffling from the room behind got closer as they brushed through the door.
Trying to roll over saw no success. Looking back to the pool of blood spreading over the floor ahead I felt nothing. I would die without her again. Feeling the hoard collapse on me their teeth sunk into flesh again this time without any resistance as everything went black.
Leaving my body and falling into the endless void I felt nothing. I’d given my life and it wasn’t enough. Nothing could be worse than this. I’d be entering a shroud I was already so familiar with. Sinking further and further into the core though I could hear her whispers. Focussing my senses just before they began to fail as the forces tore apart my very being I felt such glorious relief as I honed in on what I was searching for. Right before the end of everything I managed to find what I lost so long ago even if it was only for a moment.