CHAPTER TWO
SCHOOL'S OUT
It's like soaking in a bath; it takes a moment for your skin to adjust. But as it does you can feel warmth massaging every fiber of your being. Gently and warmly. If you spend too much time soaking the water turns cold, slowly but surely. The blissful caress changes to shivers. Cold!
Olivia opens her eyes to see darkness. She tries to breathe but there is no breath. Her body can barely move like a fly caught in a spider's web.
Am I going to die, Olivia wonders? Or am I already dead?
She struggles for a bit just like the fly. Only for a bit. She lets go allowing the helplessness to consume her.
I wonder if I will feel anything, Olivia thinks.
Then, a hand grabs her hand. Holding tightly. In a minute moment hope returns.
I don't want to die, she silently screams.
The hand pulls her out. Rayne drags out Olivia from a pool of slimy,
thick liquid. She takes a deep breath.
"Doctor, it's alright. You are safe now," Rayne says trying to provide some words of encouragement. Olivia pants rapidly. Her hands shake.
"Doctor? Doctor?" Rayne calls to her again but to no avail, he takes another look; fear is all too apparent.
"OLIVIA!" Rayne yells. For a moment she calms and in the next, she turns to Rayne.
"Captain?" Olivia blurts out as she regains composure.
"Glad to see you are alright," Rayne adds as he presses a button on his helmet, “Fang Two do you copy? Davenport? George? Akira? Does anyone copy?” he asks. There is no response only static.
Olivia looks around. Behind her is a long rectangle-shaped pool from where Rayne got her out. Big as an an Olympic pool. But there is no water inside only the same reddish-black, slimy, thick liquid she was trapped in. Air bubbles appear on moving fluid, moving like alive; thin veins sprout from the pool creeping unto the floor and the ceiling. She looks around the room. Excluding the unnatural liquid and veins, it looks like a normal school pool room. Light shines inside from the surrounding windows.
"Wasn't it night?" Olivia blurts out.
Rayne glances outside at the bright daylight illuminating the structures outside. And the structures are perfect; nothing compared to what they appeared when they entered the Entity. Rayne goes to one of the windows to take a closer look. He sees people outside, men, women, and children going on about their daily life as if nothing happened.
Was all that a dream, Rayne wonders?
Turning around he sees the foul pool and the veins. The sickening sight dispels the thought.
"I don't understand?" Olivia says as she approaches Rayne.
"Come on, we are getting out of here," Rayne says as he turns his rifle and breaks the glass window with the gunstock. Clearing the glass he climbs up and offers Olivia a hand as they proceed outside. Moving outside the world turns like a car making a sharp turn. Their vision breaks like their balance; they fall.
"What the hell?" Rayne says as he shakes his head trying to focus. Olivia lies behind him doing the same. Regaining their senses they notice they are still inside the pool area.
"This makes no sense," Rayne adds rushing to the broken window again. He climbs again. Suddenly, a surge of pain rushes through Olivia's head as she screams.
The pain passes. She opens her eyes; Rayne is lying on the floor next to the broken window.
"I don't believe this," Rayne says as he stands. Visibly frustrated he goes for another attempt.
"STOP!" Olivia says, grabbing him by the shoulder.
"We have to get out of here."
"You tried it twice. It doesn't work."
"But..."
"It doesn't work," Olivia says staring Rayne in the eye. She is right. The unusual situation got to him. He lost his cool. And that is something a soldier should never do. Rayne smirks and shakes his head at the embarrassing moment of weakness; he goes to the window.
"Hey..." Olivia says as she gets cut off.
"It's alright. I'm calm. Thank you, Doctor," Rayne says, reassuring her.
He goes to the window.
"Hello," he yells to the passing people. They do not respond to him.
"I am Captain Rayne. The US military has sent us to help you," he explains but still, no one responds nor even turns to look at them.
"HELLO! ANYBODY?" Olivia yells. The people should be able to hear them, they are not far away. So why isn't anyone responding? It is as if they are invisible.
"Something is wrong here. Very wrong," Rayne says.
"Captain, do you notice something strange on the outside?" Olivia asks.
Rayne looks. He sees the same people casually walking on a bright sunny day, the same structures in pristine condition, no signs of destruction or the horrors they faced before. He's rarely seen such a clear and beautiful sunny day as this one.
“There are a lot of strange things here. The people who seem unable to hear or see us, the fact that the destroyed buildings are now completely fine, that pool or those veins or what the hell they are..." Rayne says as he gets cut off.
"Not that." Olivia says, "Look up," she points in the sky.
Rayne looks. He sees the Sun amid the blue sky covered by clouds.
"Just a clear sunny day. What is strange about..." Rayne says as he stops.
"The Entity," Rayne quickly realizes.
"Exactly," Olivia adds.
Rayne draws his pistol.
"What are you doing?" Olivia asks.
"Stand back," Rayne says. She moves back unsure of his intentions. Rayne aims at the nearest building outside the pool area and shoots. A window shatters as the bullet ricochets back like a boomerang. Luckily Rayne shot from an angle.
Rayne and Olivia look at each other. It is pretty safe to assume they cannot leave like this.
"Great. What now?" Rayne says as he smirks out of frustration.
"We can always try the door," Olivia says as they turn toward the only door inside the pool area locked by a chain. Rayne shoots the lock as the door opens. He checks the A-10 Tempest rifle's magazine; Olivia draws her pistol in preparation. She stares at the pistol for the moment remembering how fear turned her helpless.
Olivia takes a deep breath to compose herself. She is ready. Rayne notices the clarity in her eyes.
He nods as they move forth.
Lights flicker upon the hallway. They can see but the visibility is lacking. Rayne raises his hand to signal a stop. He puts on his night-vision goggles but he can't see through them. There is a strange pattern as if waves of energy collide in an abstract collage of colors. He tries to fix the googles by gently bumping them a few times but as expected it doesn't help.
"What's wrong?" Olivia asks.
"Nightvision doesn't seem to work," Rayne explains. He takes out a small flashlight and attaches it to his rifle.
"You should have a flashlight in your backpack," Rayne says as he turns to Olivia. She checks and finds it.
They continue through the halls. The same thin veins extend on the floor and the walls. Spreading. Corrupting.
There are doors on both sides of the hall. Classrooms with tables, chairs, blackboards all covered in the dark veins encompassing all like fishnets. The veins converge into sacks of round flesh.
The sacks twinge in rhythmless rhythm. Only when they see fit.
Olivia and Rayne enter the classroom as they approach one sack.
"Doctor, any ideas?" Rayne asks.
She takes out a knife and crouches near it.
"Not the most scientific approach but considering," Olivia explains as she cuts the flesh sack. As soon as the cold steel penetrates the vile meat the entire building shakes.
"I don't think the school likes that," Rayne says.
Olivia continues to cut and dissect the sack. Rayne moves to the windows. The view from the window leads to a picture of children happily playing outside. He breaks the window again hoping they would notice him; they do not. A child walks in front of the window, casually stretching.
"Hey kid," Rayne calls the boy but he doesn't answer. Rayne grabs the kid by the arm. The child vanishes as an image flashes in his mind. An image of the sack of flesh. Rayne thinks for a moment. His face turns pale as he comes to a realization.
"Olivia, wait! The..." Rayne says as he turns.
It is too late. Olivia, face as pale as ash, holds a smaller humanoid creature covered in bloody grime.
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The being possess no distinct features almost similar to the melted flesh humanoids but one thing is clear; as the melted flesh humanoids were once humans so was this still-life creature once a youth.
"I don't... WHAT IS THIS?" Olivia blurts out, distressed. As grip weakens the body slips from her hands like water from a squeezed fist. Rayne approaches and looks at the unborn. Simply staring. They both stare. In dreadful silence and silent dread.
Suddenly, a loud thump breaks their gaze. THUMP! Then another. Loud crashes like a hammer tearing a wall. Rayne quickly runs to the door. He crouches and glances behind the corner. Half an eye secretly peeks. Just enough to see and just enough not to be seen. A creature limps through the hallway. Its body is too fat to effectively move through the narrow hallway but it trudges with its long paddle-like limb. Moving the long limb as it pulls the rest of its motionless body. The paddle violently and clumsily springs forth breaking a part of the wall in the process.
Thump, thump, thump.
It is hard to see any distinct features as the creature appears more like a fusion of minced meat covered in grime. With every step it takes it leaves a red gelatinous trail behind.
To end its misery, Rayne wonders as he looks at his rifle?
The mangled abomination suddenly stops. Small tentacles pop out from its body as they swirl around and stick to the surface. More of those veins cover the floor and walls.
"What's out there?" Olivia asks.
"You don't want to know," Rayne says. The mangled creature trudges forward with its paddle-like limb.
Rayne rushes back into the room and grabs a table.
The mangled abomination stops as if able to sense the cut sack of flesh and the removed humanoid child. It trudges inside the room. Rayne and Olivia sit quietly and silently behind the make-shift wall of school tables. Rayne grips his rifle ready to take action at any moment; Olivia holds her mouth with both hands. Somewhere from its body, the mangled abomination, extends an arm-like limb, almost like a two-fingered claw. It grabs the tiny dead humanoid. Then, a deep hollow echo fills the room.
Is it crying, Rayne wonders?
The mangled abomination fuses the dead humanoid child unto its flesh as it turns and continues on its way. Rayne peeks to double-check. He goes to the edge of the door again and watches as the creature makes its way to the pool. There the creature drops the humanoid child in it. It turns its paddle-like limb and stirs the substance. Rayne watches as the abomination lifts something with its limb.
Two half dissolved human heads!
"Olivia, come on," Rayne signals to her. Her breathing is fast and shallow but she stands.
"Oh my god," Olivia blurts out as she instinctively looks at the creature.
"Let's go," Rayne says as he takes her hand.
They quickly move through the hallways not bothering to stop at the classrooms. With a glance here or there while moving forward they see other sacks of flesh in the passing rooms. Too many for comfort lying in bloody fields of veins and crud.
The hallway ends, the exit is in sight. Rayne and Olivia open the door. They stop suddenly. Beyond the door is nothing but ashen clouds amid an ashen sky. They stop almost a step away from oblivion. Hanging by a thread.
"What the?" Rayne blurts out as Olivia loudly gaps.
They look down into the abyss. The abyss looks back. Rayne and Olivia move back to the safety of the solid ground. Beneath their feet are small fragments of broken parquet; Rayne takes one and throws it into the abyss. The little piece of wood vanishes amid the grey.
"It won't let you leave unless you kill it," a voice appears in his head.
Rayne abruptly turns, holding his rifle at the ready.
"What is it?" Olivia asks, confused by his abrupt movement.
"Did you hear that?" Rayne asks, still looking.
Olivia looks around but there is nothing.
"The child?" Rayne blurts out.
"The child?" Olivia asks, unsure.
"The one on the rooftop. It spoke to me. Told me to fight for it," Rayne explains.
"The white light," Olivia adds, recollecting the light but not the "child" Rayne is describing.
"The Heart. Kill the heart. Go upstairs," the voice speaks again.
Rayne looks at the second floor.
"What is it?" Olivia asks.
"It told me it's upstairs. Told me to kill the heart?" Rayne says. Olivia looks at him unsure. He shrugs.
They hear the same thumping noise in the distance coming from the hallways they just passed.
The mangled creature!
"Let's go," Rayne says as they proceed upstairs.
Footsteps echo amid the silent place; each step is heavy. Rayne gradually slows his pace, steps lighter trying to mitigate the noise. But the gentler the step the louder the thump.
*THUMP*
The silence amplifies everything especially if you listen. And he listens. At the end of the hall lies a curved open space like a rostrum surrounded by windows overlooking the snowy town outside. Atop the rostrum sits a thing of flesh. It looks like a giant heart. The veins they saw each end here, converge in it. In front of the heart a hundred melted flesh humanoid worshipers on their knees except these are smaller- childlike. Their eyes focus on the heart as it beats once; they can hear it, feel it.
"Destroy it," the voice of the Child says as it dissipates.
Their movements attract attention. Rayne quickly hides in a nearby room, grabbing Olivia.
"Are those...?" Olivia asks, unable to finish the question.
Rayne nods.
"Oh my god." Olivia blurts out trying to come to terms with what she just saw, "I've figured out where we are," she says.
"Where?" Rayne asks.
"We're in hell," Olivia says. Rayne wants to disagree but how can he?
He takes a peak. The melted flesh children in front of the heart obstruct the way forth.
Rayne takes the frag grenade hanging on his belt.
This should do the job, Rayne concludes.
"Olivia, I will frag that thing. When it explodes we run. Okay?" Rayne explains. Olivia nods.
He pulls out the frag grenade and the pin. He takes a deep sigh. Steps into the hallways and throws it. The grenade falls near the heart.
"Fire in the hole," Rayne says as he returns to the room and plucks his ears with his hands. Olivia, seeing him, does the same. The melted flesh children look at the frag grenade. It explodes!
Grenade fragments scatter around propelled by the force of the explosion rend the nearby flesh.
The destructive force leaves a bloody mess like an abstract canvas. Half of the heart is ruptured. It beats one more time loudly. Then it stops. With the last beat, the “building” cries out in pain; cries in deep vibrations.
"LET'S GO!" Rayne says as he and Olivia go in the hallway and run.
The surviving melted flesh children turn to them and screech a piercing howl.
Their eyes light up in bloodlust. Rayne turns to provide cover fire. Three single shoots, each precise and deadly hitting them in the head.
The small monstrosities give chase. Noticing the overwhelming numbers Rayne takes out the flashbang; he throws it behind his back as he continues running. Olivia, curious, looks back.
"Don't look," Rayne says quickly. She turns back and as soon as she does the flashbang explodes. The bright light blinds the melted flesh children as they scream and lose their footing; blindly bumping into the walls and each other as they fall. Rayne and Olivia descend the stairs in haste.
Ashen clouds still fly amid the ashen sky at the exit door. They cannot go here.
"Where to now?" Olivia asks. There aren't many options; Rayne turns to the downstairs hallway. He sees the Child standing in it as if calling them.
"There!" Rayne says, running. The entire building shakes and falls apart behind them.
As they run through the hallway, something appears from one of the rooms- the Shadow. The same creature they faced when they entered the Entity. The same two eyes shining in blue light. And the same long thin fingers erratically twitch and crunch like broken bones followed by the hollow echoing laughter.
It extends those long fingers trying to grab them.
Rayne reacts quickly as he jumps back into the opposite room while grabbing Olivia, barely evading its grasp as they both fall on their backs.
As they lay on the ground the Shadow approaches them leaving a trail of afterimages.
Rayne shoots it with the secondary shotgun fire exhausting all five shots. But the Shadow does not falter. Olivia stands and aims the A-1 Wind. Her hands tremble as the blood pressure and heart rate increase. Her breathing goes fast. Very fast. The blood goes into her extremities. And as it does her grip steadies. She shoots. Shoots a lot.
Olivia screams as she unloads the entire clip into the Shadow; the small distance helps her accuracy. As the bullets hit the Shadow's head they make open wounds. Black blood pours out from it but the creature still stands, unhinged.
It touches its face thrusting its fingers inside the holes, curiously inspecting. The Shadow laughs in its hollow echoing laughter. Then it turns to Olivia. Rayne uses the moment Olivia drew its attention away. He appears near it, pushing his rifle in the Shadow's eye socket. He squeezes the trigger in full auto. The assault breaks half of its face and pushes the creature back. While the Shadow falls back it bumps into the mangled creature. The two monsters face each other. The mangled monster raises its paddle-like limb and slashes the Shadow. The Shadow laughs as it grabs the mangled creature. In the struggle, the both monsters fall back.
"Now's our chance," Rayne says. They make a run for it. He sees the Child in the same room where they first appeared.
"Where are we going?" Olivia asks.
"Trust me." Rayne says, confidently, "I think," he adds, less confidently.
The Shadow rises as it holds a large portion of the mangled creature's flesh. It turns to the two running humans.
Rayne and Olivia enter the pool area. The Child points outside the broken window.
"There!" Rayne says as he and Olivia run.
The Shadow appears behind them leaving a trail of afterimages behind it. Ready to grab them as they climb out of the window; narrowly escaping.
They vanish as the Shadow remains standing in the crumbling building.
It laughs as the building collapses.