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Enmity of the Ancients
Chapter 2: Crude Awakening

Chapter 2: Crude Awakening

A strong but stifled ringing is vaguely heard in what feels like clogged ears as a numbed throbbing is felt throughout his body; a heavy weight pinning his limbs much like the sensation of sleep paralysis weights him down as his consciousness slowly inches forwards. Eyes are sealed shut, but a fraction of tinted light skimmed the surfaces of his irises; he felt their sluggish movements sporadically moving about behind the closed lids searching about in confusion. Life starts to leak into his limbs as twitches intermittently begin to be fired into his fingers and toes as uncertainty rules his mind for he is doped with grogginess. The trodding of bare feet on hard floor accompanied with grunts are dimly heard to his right through his plugged ringing ears, the sudden unexpected sounds startle him which raises his pulse, doing him well for it drags him farther from the clutching slumber that is so harshly numbing him. Out of curiosity, he manages to pry open his weak eyelids with a scant separation, alas, nothing is discernible from the hazy blur that bleeds into his eyes. Attempting to move a hand to rub the milky eyes, he discovers a painful tug coming from the inner center of his wrist; as if the vein is being pulled out of his arm by the resistance which halts his actions. Wondering why this pain is present, he tries to lift his head slightly so he can lay eyes on the ensnared limb, only to be greeted with the same sensation coming from the insides of his ears which holds his head in place from the painful pull. A stint of adrenaline surged throughout his body as this mysterious unpleasant feeling pours fear into his mind and sets off alarms.

Opening his eyes again after a few harsh squeezes helps somewhat to defog his vision, as smears of color begin taking over his sight. Shades of whites and reds came fading in from the sides while the majority of the front was still enveloped in darkness, it was as if he was being shaded underneath a canopy. With more force he makes an attempt to liberate his left arm, he pulls with painful but unrelenting energy as he ignores the signals being sent to his brain telling him to stop. The tug worsens and throbs deeper, but he can tell that the hold is starting to give away as the deep lodged insert gives a small greased slip with its friction. Whilst putting in more effort the sensation feels like a thorned needle being ripped from deep within his forearm as more millimeters slowly seep out. Adrenaline pumps through him as the pain progresses, aiding in his efforts as he worries less about the embedded burning twinge holding him captive. He is able to force through the screaming agony as his arm soon breaks free with a jerk, then from the fresh opening on his wrist he feels a trickle of liquid begin to ooze out as it begins to lightly cool the surface in which it came into contact with. The now liberated arm reaches over to the right side of his head and discovers a damp fleshy tube burrowing into his ear canal as it branches out and covers the majority of his ear and a tiny portion of the side of his head. It feels warm to the touch and assumes that his inner ear has acclimated to its moderate heat for he can hardly notice its presence. Taking in deep breaths to sooth his raging heart, he takes the plunge and yanks the tube out from his ear with a grunting force. The inside of his ear is screaming and pulsing with pain as liquid dribbles out of the freshly excavated hole much like the perforation on his wrist. Ringing is all that he hears from the free and cold ear, but his efforts gave him some liberty in lifting and tilting his head. Working up the courage to rip the other side out, he takes a moment to get a sense of the rest of his body while the pain subdues him for the time being.

Starting from the top he focuses on his head (aside from the burning within his ear) his attention is shortly brought to his nose as he feels an insignificant weight lodged inside of his left nostril. Curiously, he reaches up with the free hand and feels a ring embedded in it, solid and warmed from the heat of his body, he can’t help but feel bewildered by it. Not being able to resist playing with this ring between his thumb and index finger as he ponders its purpose and why it is there. Deciding to save the questions for later, considering he has more pressing matters, he moves on and tries to focus on the remainder of his body. Getting a sense of his shoulders down to arms and hands, then his chest, groin, thighs, calves and then finally his feet. He can feel them all, but the most concerning feeling was from the midst of his belly and above his ankles, the same sensation of deep rooted tubes digging into his Achilles tendons but the feeling was deeper into his stomach. The body focus was supposed to alleviate some of his stress but in turn did the opposite, he couldn't bear it anymore as he hastily pulled free his right arm and the tube in his left ear in quick succession while shouting in bouts of pain. Panting and catching his breath he props up slightly from elbows for the ceiling of the bunk he is in rests roughly three feet from the bottom, strangely the bottom portion that he is laying in has been carved out to make best use of the space cradling his live cadaver.

Catching his breath he ceases the ripping for a few moments and veers down unto said surface that he feels beneath him, the sides are an intense dark red that match the walls of the building while in the center underneath his body is rested in an outline, which in this outline is an orangish red flesh like weave that feels warm amongst his body but grossly moist. The tubes he yanked out from his flesh and ears slowly writhe there on the surface with almost identical appearances as the bed while a mixture of orange and red liquid oozed out from the ripped ends that sheened in what visible light there was. Focusing more on his body he can see the girthy cord that he felt before burrowing into his belly much like an umbilical cord. What seems to catch his eye more though is that his groin and chest area are devoid of any features for they are flat, feeling as if there should be more to these sections of his body he only stares and gets lost in thought. Shaken from his confusion is a sudden scream off in the distance to his right which he darts his head towards the sound in hopes to witness the being producing them. Just a faint caught through the still present ringing in his ears he looks out from the strange bunk he resides in, mostly in vain for his vision is still quite fogged. Through the blur he can vaguely make out an exorbitant structure that is the same color as the one he’s in, the edges of this building are still encapsulated within his vision which gives him an idea of the size(about twenty feet in width). Abruptly, he feels his stomach begin to churn as his throat yanks, leaning hastily out over the side of the bunk he proceeds to puke. Expunging only air and a slimy opaque liquid that leaves him coughing while tears line his eyes. Looking unto the ground just a foot away from him seems to be the only thing his freshly opened eyes can focus on.

Flat hexagonal white tiles in about 6 or 7 inches in size, they seem to be perfectly crafted with no imperfections. Eyes following along the surface while taking a careful study leads to the edges of it. Inside of the seams where its end meets another are small crevices that seem to be just a couple millimeters wide, they look to be set in a pitch black void. Along some of the crevices a red liquid is flowing through them as little trails trickle over unto the flat top. The wet surface combined with the brightness of this place, he feels that there would be quite a blaring reflection bouncing off of the tiles but they don’t produce any of the sort. Just a sheer flat and pristine plane can be observed that has completely enthralled him. He reaches out with his index finger and smudges a thin creeping line of red with just the tip. Reeling it back and turning it towards his face, he takes in sight of the crimson liquid that is now flowing down the curves of his finger with the trail drying up quickly as it crusts atop his skin. An intrusive thought takes over his actions as he then licks the drop that was falling down his jointed digit, it tasted like a penny. As the liquid dried the inside of his mouth, he knew what it was but didn’t want to believe that it was blood.

As his mind begins to slip he decides it is a good time to turn attention back to his body that is being held prisoner by the intruding tubes of flesh. Grabbing and tugging at the umbilical cord and feeling its warm moist exterior made his skin crawl, thus giving more urgency to rid of the unwanted tube. Having difficulties, his other senses start to shove themselves right into his face. His skin feels sticky and damp from the humid air that smells entirely putrid. Thick and heavily lined with mildew and metallics, he feels sick again but disregards the sensation and pushes on trying to break free from the bed as he chokes down some gags. Looking around as if he were to find someone to aid him, his eyes look back outwards towards the neighboring structure once again as his vision has cleared up more, he sees a body in the bunk much like his. The person there is supine, unconscious and not moving, he can vaguely make out the same tubes protruding from them as well as a bright orange glow is being produced from their chest that is oscillating with a lackadaisical pulse. Looking back to the floor in between the two structures he catches a trail of footprints that are marked in splotches of blood. It comforts him knowing that he isn’t the only one to have awoken in this horrible nightmare, curiosity builds quickly, driving his determination of liberty further. He grasps the cord coming from his belly tight with both hands and gives all his might to pull it out, screaming as the pain tries to keep the cord rooted deep inside of his body. Inch by inch it begins to give way, then finally with much force, the tube comes out. Blood and glowing orange goo sputtered out from the open end forcing him to close his eyes as mist had shot out, lightly sprinkling his face and body. He looks down at the bright orange substance, trying to learn of what it is, watching as the luminescent liquid on his flesh slowly absorbs and disappears into his skin. The rest that had landed on the ground or structure curdles as its radiance slowly dies off. The glow seems very much like the one coming from the person’s body across the way, but he wonders why his chest isn’t producing the same light. With a shift of his body, he feels a tug painfully pull above his heels, pulling his mind back as well to his predicament.

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After carefully following the same process, he pulls his legs free, bearing the throbbing agony once more. While caressing one of the freed spots behind his leg, an audible trickle is heard in his left ear, causing him to turn his head sideways as he sees the inside of the structure that he resides in. Then poking his head out to get a better view of what it encompasses, he sees that the building itself angles in and comes back around with eight sides, meeting back to his position. Each side has alternating bunks of different heights like a staggered set of stairs. In each bottom portion of these openings he can see more motionless bodies entangled by the fleshy vines that he just broke free from. The bunks before him have an orange glow flowing from the shelves along the outlining structure holding them, neatly transporting the fluorescent liquid along thin transparent gutters. Going down the sides and meeting the floor, it further channels the liquid into the middle of the ground of this strange octagon into another eight sided opening. Still looking outwards he reaches for a ledge to grab onto and sees that his hand is trembling, along with this sight he also notices that his chest is tight, making it hard to breath. He pulls his hand back as he sits back down inside of the bunk followed by wrapping himself tightly in his arms, attempting to ease his racing mind. Panting as his chest pounds vigorously, his vision is only that of the wall in front of him while the sides and top have been engulfed in a dark haze. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath through his nose, doing his best to ignore the fetid smell lingering in the air. Holding it in his lungs for a few moments while he focuses on feeling his body from the bottom to the top. Then letting out the air through pursed lips slowly, he repeats these actions a few more times while trying to think of a happy place.

He is shocked for cannot think of, or recall any memories that make him happy; a sliver of panic starts to grow as he cannot remember anything at all. He opens his eyes with a worried and confused look on his face. What day is it? What street did you grow up on? What is your mothers name? No answers to any of these questions. The question that tears away at him the most he asks out loud to himself.

“Who am I?” eyes still open but lost into a void of deep thought, thinking, wishing and trying his best to recall anything. Suddenly a piercing pain like a needle shoots through on the right side of his lower neck, he falls to the side while holding the spot in both hands. The pain is sharp and deep, feeling like spindles of thorns are spreading out and throbbing from the inside he groans. Not sure as to what is happening to him, the pain had already started to subside. Once it becomes tolerable he props himself back up and checks his hands for blood, relieved but confused for his hands bear none. In the midst of this his attention is caught by shrill shrieks heard off in the distance once again, snapping him back to reality as he turns his head to the right. Eyes focused on the body across being drawn to the orange glow, he takes in another deep breath and hesitates to look past the building but can already lightly make it out from his peripherals. He follows the lining of the structure and meets the end of it, discovering that there are even more identical ones past it. He finally peers his head out and looks down one side. The white floor seems to go on and on making an aisle as the structures make lines on both sides. The distance down the aisle starts to get mucked up by red hues as the buildings grow smaller, shrinking into the horizon. Turning around in the other direction he is greeted with the same sight, but at the end he can vaguely guess the presence of a wall hiding behind the veil of haze. His eyes follow up the white beams along the red walls that feel like they are a few miles away. The ceiling that seems to be a few hundred feet high is made of the same whites and reds. Struck with awe and fear from what his eyes have seen, tears begin to pool out from them.

Pinned in his positions by the striking size and horrific sights of the landscape he forgets his intentions for a brief moment.

His curious thoughts bring him back to and leads his body into motion towards the glowing vessel right across. Stepping out from his bunk he begins walking towards the neighboring building which seems to be roughly twenty feet away. Each step he takes the more he can clearly see the person laying there as the pulsing light shines about, illuminating its adjacent surroundings like a flame. He kneels down resting a hand on the edge of the structure and peers into the face whose jaw is hanging limply, their eyes are open but only the whites are to be seen as the pupils have rolled far back into their head. It appears to be a woman roughly in her twenties, the life seems to have been sucked out of her as cheeks are shallow and skin is lacking saturation aside from the glowing orange coming from her bust. Her brown long hair spindles along the back of her neck and rests atop of her shoulders. He reaches out to touch her face but suddenly feels the presence of another, who is sitting just on the other side of the bed. His eyes dart up and jump right into the other man’s that he somehow didn’t notice before. His smiling face is splattered with blood as drops are falling off of his chin and his exposed teeth are painted red. Heavy bags are underneath his sockets that seem to go deep into the gazing gray blue eyes that are cracked with red veins, just a quick dive into them he can tell that plenty has gone awry with this man. His short blond hair is also dripping with the liquid combined with sweat and has been pushed back out of his face as a few squiggles of it are glued to his forehead. He stares into the man’s soul for a few moments as the man reciprocates this; no words were spoken for the moments that felt like ages as the background was filled with the crazed man’s deep breathing. The whole time this man’s lids seemed to be frozen as they did not blink, the tension was cut by the words suddenly muttered from his mouth, startling him for he was rooted by his gaze.

“Warum hast du mich gemacht?” he says with a still head and eyes like a statue.

“What?” he asks back with a squint in his eyes, not sure of what the man had said to him.

“Warum!? Warum!? Warum!?” The man yells back with his face hardening into a fierce scowl as he then clutches onto the reaching arm by his wrist, forcefully and tight. The clasping hand hurts with its squeezing vice, he can feel the man’s hand is wet as it clutches tighter causing him to peer down unto it, seeing that his fist is enrobed in red.

“Ah what the fuck man!? Let go of me!” He shouts out to him, trying to pull his arm away, but is met with great resistance.

“Ich mach dich kalt!” The man yells at him as he tries reeling him closer, resistance gives way as the squeezed arm slips free from his lathered hand. This causes the one that was held captive to fall backwards onto his rear from the pent up energy. He wastes no time, scrambling to his feet and begins to run away down one of the lengthy aisles.

“Warte, du fotze!” he hears behind him as he assumes the man is crawling his way out of the structure. Shortly afterwards, he can hear slaps of feet in the distance behind him followed by his own. Eyes set straight and limbs throwing themselves as hard and fast as they can carry him, adrenaline is powering him forwards like a steam engine. Though it doesn’t seem to be enough despite his efforts as he can hear the man behind him closing in with his feet and grunts. Without paying attention to his footing, he slips from a pool of blood that had accumulated. Flinging his legs out in front of him and arms sprawled out trying to catch onto anything, he then feels a smack to the back of his head accompanied with a loud thud.