Chapter 2: Sting in the tale

Again. Rending flesh, splintering bone and darkness seeps into every pore. Then Return. Surging to my feet, unsteadily I rise. I sense him like a second skin, there before me. Hidden only by times brief flight. My heart thunders. Energy surging within me. I shadow jump and appear before him.

I open my eyes blinking up into bright light and try and get my bearings, I was out cold but now am waking, the dream fading fast from my mind.

Trying and failing hopelessly not to panic I find I’m inside what seems like a freezer cabinet. I flail manically for a second, like a wet fish at the market, till I realise that’s probably not the best course of action. If a psychopath has me on ice in the freezer or for crazy experiments.

Then I twig it’s not cold. In fact, it’s kind of warm and cosy. Now that is weird. After listening for a moment I think to hell with it, as I can’t see anything even with my face smooched up against the glass, of the top. So, as gently as I can I push against the glass top. It budges and I feel colder air drift across my face. I poke my head out. Looks like I’m in a hospital, to be expected I guess. An immaculately clean hospital. Not one I’ve visited before then.

I get out feeling a bit wobbly, must be cramps from the confined space. I slide to the floor, my leg going out from under me. WTF. I massage my legs while listening on hyper alert for voices or footfalls. Then I hear what could possibly be muffled explosions or my imagination playing tricks on me, either way I need to get moving or I’m most probably fucked.

I manage to drag myself across the shiny white floor, to the nearest cupboard. On opening, I find it’s big enough to cram myself in and pull the door too. A few minutes pass, giving me time to get me breathing under control. I hear people entering talking in hushed voices. I can’t make out any of what they are saying. I can hear them poking about near the chest, then leaving hurriedly, shortly afterwards. I wait for as long as I can manage, before I have to take a peak. What is up with my legs? They still are limp, I’m like a baby giraffe, wobbling all over the place as I try and make it out of the room, without making too much noise. As I look at the room, I think what the hell kind of hospital is this, their interior designer went way over budget. Everything looks straight out of the box, like it’s brand new.

I make my way out, there is a long corridor, and again it’s giving me high tech futuristic vibes. Forget straight walls this is all like one long bendy tube, with recessed blue neon strip lighting. All is quiet. No mad scientists or their henchmen with trolleys and syringes. Also no trails of blood, so all good. I make my way unceremoniously along the corridor. Until I get to an intersection, panting for air and having to flop to the floor. Are we on top of a mountain or am I really so unfit. Every five minutes, I have to stop and flop.

What to do? No phone, I’m naked with nothing but my little wits about me. I try to take a straight direction by alternating left and right at intersections. As this place is like a labyrinth: corridor after corridor, without seeming end. And all very new and shiny. At least my breath starts to stabilise. This is no normal hospital I think to myself. Of course not it’s a freakish hospital for experiments you dumbass. And if you want to get out with more sanity than its interior designer, you better keep your cool.

Talking of which, it’s getting cold and whatever they gave me to knock me out feels like it’s still effecting me. My vision even seems a bit blurry. I think to check my STATS. Is it even working still?

Stats

HP

28

MP

0

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

SP

1

STR

6

INT

9

SPR

1

DEF

0

MEN

0

PRISM

0

AGI

1

MAGI

0

SAGE

1

DEX

1

HEX

0

ESS

0

Special Abilities: None

Status effects: slight oxygen deprivation

Race: Human

According to this I’m ‘A’ ok. Dumb STATS, doesn’t even work and there was me worrying about them.

Eventually after a few hours of stop starting, I slump down and try to rest. But as I say it’s cold and stupid as it may seem now that not-freezer seems very tempting. So I try to make my dumbass way back to where I started from but I’m having trouble just catching my breath.

I don’t though. I get lost, but in a good way. I find somewhere that’s not a corridor. Well not just walls and strip lighting. Holy shit. I get the feeling this may not a hospital, at all. This is more like a James Bond set. There’s a gigantic window looking out over a floor below. The glass looks like it must be at least 3 inches thick. It overlooks a massive space, maybe a loading bay or car park. And there are 3 figures I can see, laying sprawled, on the floor and I don’t think they’re sleeping. Judging by the angles they are laying at and charred appearance of them and their surroundings.

So, I think they are most probably dead, unless performance art is a thing here. In kind of a daze again not acting rationally I look around and eventually find a lift and mash the down button. What was I thinking! I’d save them? Nope I just had to see it close up. Curious by nature. I get down to the floor with the bodies and the smell hits me: it’s like a bad barbeque. And oh fuck, I realise I was right. It’s not a hospital after all.

There are lots more windows. And one, is the biggest I have ever seen. Colossal. I hobble over and press my face up against it. I shield my eyes and look out at…desert. Yes, miles and miles of desert. I can see, maybe… I’m not sure how far. But a long way. They could be very large rocks or mountains in the distance. It’s very hard to tell scale without something to compare them with. Am I in Las Vegas? But no that would be too simple there has to be freakish stuff. Ok I’m hoping they are small boulders as I can see some lizards out there. And if they’re not rocks then those lizards are on some serious steroids. Give me a break I’ve just seen the charred barbies on the floor and now what charmander?! And I mean scary looking what are they giant frikin lizards. I don’t know. They look as big as a bus. Then one of them turns its head my way. I freeze. Are ok. I feel I’ve just stumpled into the lions enclosure at the zoon. Too frikin late, the lizard starts moving my way, at surprising speed. I fall back from the window onto my butt. Holy shit. Its bigger than I thought. Do you really get lizards that big?. Its maybe 60 or 70 metres long. I can make out, tightly packed grey scales and giant talons that are breaking up quite a dust trail as it comes nearer. At that point my legs start moving real quick, as the last of my adrenalin hits me and I get myself off that floor. I run keeping my eye on the lizard, ending up on the floor of the lift, hyperventilating.

As Kabam!! the lizard thing hits the window, sending tremors through the floor and up my legs . Thank god it’s not a normal window and despite it hitting repeatedly like a truck, the window only wobbles and more than anything the noise hurts my ears. Making me panic that the killers will show up again and get to me before any lizard has a chance. One of its eyeballs is easily bigger than my head!

I haul my arse upstairs and watch the spectacle, laying on my belly. Another lizard thing joins it, but just watches. After a few more faint hearted, kabams, the first one loses interest and backs off. The lizard has a sickly pink tongue and is not cute at all. Then it hits me! Where I’ve seen a place like this before. This place looks like a spaceship. No hospital, needs glass that thick. It would cost who knows how much for just a normal sized window. Ok, I may not be on earth unless the mad scientists here are feeding normal lizards some fucked up stuff. But judging by the way the barbies look: wearing what look like space suits, my bets are on the former. And more importantly if I live through this I can’t wait to see Sam’s face when I tell her about this! Actually on second thoughts, I can she will be pissed. Scratch that. I go out to get some holiday money and come back with nothing. Plus I get abducted by aliens and don’t return, in time. Yeah, she’ll kill me. Shit.