Member
Master EffeX
Half Pint
Lemons
Sep
Eviledd1984
AlteredTundra
Master Bruce
Izurich
Simple Unicycle
Damycles
Unknown
The chamber doors rolled open, and a flood of off-color mist poured inside. Hissing hydraulics rang out in an ear-piercing chorus as Jaime's containment room was revealed. It was a massive space, akin to a warehouse in scope, all of it empty save for the machine that dominated the center. Vents scattered about the concrete walls and ceiling unleashed great gusts of a strange chemical fog that mingled near the floor and lazily floated about as it filled the space.
Paco glanced down at the rubber gloves he'd been ordered to wear. A thin piece of material kept...whatever those chemicals were from touching his bare flesh. He had to wonder what would happen if Brenda had failed to properly secure the suit's zipper. He didn't know what exposure would do to him. His imagination crawled into it's darkest depths, conjuring up images of melting skin and rampant tumors. It sent a tingle rushing down his spine. Paco was forced to shake it off, focusing instead on navigating toward the monolith that was being used to shackle and bind his friend.
Jaime hadn't noticed them yet. He was still shivering and shaking like a man possessed, thrashing about with all of the fury of a demon in an attempt to break free from the suspended pod. For all of the blue-skinned monster's violent rage, it was utterly and completely silent. Where Paco expected contempt-laden screams and animalistic howls there came not but the steady sound of Reyes's breathing. It was an unnerving incongruence between the raging of the body and the inhuman quiet of the man inside.
Paco and Brenda moved side by side, approaching the mechanical pillar as cautiously as they could. Rolling bouts of mist brushed passed them and billowed up in the air, dancing and spreading like clouds in the wind. The hiss of the air pumps and the squeaking of their boots against the floor was the only sound that filled Paco's ears aside from his own shallow breaths.
"I- I don't like this." He muttered, wanting so desperately to turn and run. His feet disagreed with his cowardice, however; and onward he pressed.
"I'm not exactly chomping at the bit about it either, Pac." Brenda spoke her response, moving ahead of her larger and more physically imposing friend. "But I'm not leaving him."
The intercom system clicked into life, blaring out a moment of static as the old mechanisms whirred to life. "Anddd...stop. You're in position." Their guide, kidnapper and Jaime's only hope ordered, a grotesque sort of enthusiasm leaking into his every word. "Alright, see if you can't get his attention. Once you have him, we can begin stage two."
Brenda took in a deep breath, blowing it out slowly through her nose as her eyes rose up toward the parasite's mask. It was still turned downward, apparently unaware of their presence. She cleared her throat. "Jaime? Can you hear me?"
***
Jaime Reyes impaled a woman upon his blade, blood spraying forth from her rapidly dying body and onto his armor. He fought to keep from gagging as he removed his weapon from her chest cavity and let her fall away to the side, joining the rest of the horde he had already cut down. "Dios...mío..." He heaved, exhaustion flooding through his veins. "There's...too many of them." His arms felt heavy. They barely responded to his desires, sluggishly thrashing out in the general direction of encroaching enemies with all of the grace of a drunkard.
He had to retreat to the Temple of Derath'ath Machlan'n to escape the infested legions swarming the rest of the cyclopean city. Tens of thousands of natives intermingled with just as many humans, all of them crawling with the Red. Thick streams of that crimson, pulsating stuff swam through their flesh. Malignant tumors burst forth from their orifices, awash in puss and blood. Each looked like a shambling, rotting corpse that was being held together by the tendrils of the Red that sprung out of their bodies.
Even within the sacred walls of the temple, Jaime wasn't safe. They had flooded through the entrance in the hundreds, squeezing passed one another in some kind of race to devour Reyes whole. He was forced to fallback further and further within it's labyrinthian, twisting halls, cutting them down by the dozen only for another dozen to take their place.
He didn't understand what was happening.
This wasn't supposed to be.
O'erlanii was a peaceful world. It's oceans were a bright, bubbling blue; full of so much life. It's people- the A'askvarii- were all pacifists who hadn't waged war in over a hundred thousand years. What had brought this monster here? Why was he not able to cleanse this filth and protect this world?
'Jai...'
"Who said that?!" Reyes spun around, turning his back on the encroaching horde for a precious few seconds. "Is there someone alive in here?! I can protect you-"
'...me...'
A tentacle from one of the A'askavarii found it's way around his throat while he was turned around. The pressure was immense. Reyes thrashed and fought against the hold, swinging his blade wildly back at the tendril threatening to choke the life out of him. He turned and fought, scratching, cutting and stabbing as he wheezed and huffed. It constricted further as other arms reached forward to subdue the planet's guardian, dragging him down through the water and toward the temple's floor.
He raged and raged, fighting back against the darkness that encroached on his vision.
***
The containment pod's glass cracked, though Brenda swore she never saw Jaime hit it. "Jaime!" She spoke louder, taking a step forward toward the towering machine that held him so high in the air. "It's me. It's Brenda." Did he recognize her? Could Jaime even hear her anymore? He didn't seem at all aware of his surroundings.
"What's happening to him?" Paco asked, his eyes glued on his best friend.
"His blood pressure is spiking." Dr. Caulder's joviality faded away, replaced by shades of concern as he read off Reyes's vital signs. "He's not breathing-" The sound of his old, spindly fingers dancing across the keyboard sounded through the microphone. "-I'm lowering the pod."
The monolith buzzed and whirred, the computer's commands reaching it's gears as the capsule containing Reyes began to descend toward the ground. "Both of you need to keep your distance, is that understood? Right now that thing is not your friend, and there's no telling if it will lash out or not." With a few more strokes of the keys, the cracked glass surrounding the pod began to peel away, exposing Reyes to the mist that now dominated a large portion of the room.
"Come on, come on..." The doctor growled underneath his breath, "I know this will work. I know it."
"Uhh, he doesn't sound too confident!" Paco gulped. He took several steps backward as instructed, wanting to give the homicidal alien a healthy berth.
Brenda remained planted where she was, not but a handful of feet away from the creature. "Come on, Jaime, fight it. Fight it!"
"Wh-what are you doing?! Get away from him- he'll kill you!" Paco pleaded, waving his arms and motioning desperately for her to join him. She didn't budge.
The chitinous beast convulsed violently and uncontrollably. It's mouth dropped open as tiny, inhuman mewling whispered up from it's throat, dripping with pain. The mist seemed to gravitate toward Jaime immediately, flowing toward him and covering him in a shroud of the stuff. It blocked Brenda's view for the most part, but she could hear it. She could hear the sound of it's hide bubbling and popping under the affects of the doctor's chemical concoction.
"Commencing stage two." With the press of a button, Caulder released the restraints holding Reyes in place. "It's up to you now." He sighed. "Don't bleed on the equipment too much if this doesn't work."
"You told us this would work!" Paco screamed up at the intercom.
"Both of you: shut up." Brenda snapped, holding a hand back toward Paco. Her gaze never left the cloud of chemical fog dancing around where Jaime was. The sizzling of that monster's flesh was growing louder by the second. Each pop was already nearly thundering.
That was when the screeching started.
