Chapter 6: Ch 6: Hunger
POV: Adam
I've been here for so long and yet nothing has happened, the sun hasn't changed nor has the water or even me. "I guess this is my life now ....." I thought aloud as I walked aimlessly on the clear water that I've walked on for maybe centuries.
~maybe I'm dead~ I thought to myself but at the same time It feels off, I don't feel at peace so maybe this isn't the afterlife but rather something in between.
For perhaps the millionth time I took another look around in hopes of finding something to cure my boredom. My face brightens as I notice a dark red line a couple meters away which I immediately run over to excitidly. As I near it I start to slow down to appreciate the moment as I watch the beautiful sun hanging overhead without any clouds in sight. It's reflection still as captivating and beautiful even as my steps send ripples through the water.
When I neared it the dark red line seemed to brighten as It became less dark and more red, it even started wiggling like a cats tail. I tried to grab it only for it to slither like a snake and strike at my chest. Its actions genuinely stunned me for a second before I finally snapped out of my confusion and tried to take it off. I felt nervous as I coudln't feel anything where it attached itself to me almost as if it made my pain receptors numb. I tried tugging at it but couldn't pry it off so I opted to grab it like a wet towel and twist it. Hopefully this doesn't end badly.
The red line seemed to understand my actions and untwisted itself which made me pose oddly similar to a zombie. As It did so I noticed the red line was no longer on my chest, out of confusion I started to look around only to notice it out of the corner of my eye as it slipped onto my back. ~this can't be good~ I thought to myself seconds before finding myself being dragged across the water.
It seemed to me that the world was spinning rapidly as the sun and moon switched places rapidly until It remained pitch black. My screams echoed in my own ears as the sun started to rise once more, a piece of dirt the size of a boulder rose up from the water revealing a massive hole devoid of light. I had little time to glance at what was within as I'm dragged into the muddy hole accompanied by an unknown amount of water. I tried digging my hand into the soil in an attempt to grab at anything to stop myself from being dragged but alas there was only mud, water, and dirt around for miles.
My screams echoed through the hole for hours but they fall upon deaf ears as I'm dragged in deeper and deeper I can feel myself slowly losing hope for someone to come save me.
My hope seemed to dwindle even further as I'm dragged through poorly lit dirt tunnels who seemed to collapse after we went through at least the red light that the line gave off never went away.
......
I slowly but surely got used to watching the tunnels pass by though there were times that the tunnels changed but it mattered little as the red line thing or whatever it was never stopped. So I just watched as the dirt walls turned into rusty old metal sheets which turned into some sort of material that resembled cables which seemed to pulse when I passed by but it was probably just my imagination.
The dirt beneath me seemed to start to slow down which meant only one thing my misery was finally going to be ended. It surprisingly was going slow enough for me to look over my shoulder only to find that the red line was heading towards some vent. I quickly curled up into a ball as my body slammed into the vent breaking it with ease in the process. I stayed that way for a couple of seconds as I didn't want to get hit by more if there were any others, yet I felt myself staying still. I cautiously let go of my head to see if it was safe only to find myself in the middle of an old operating room. I quickly got up and looked around with vigilance as I scanned the room only to find a rusty old operating table and moss covering most of the walls and probably the entrance as well. A large metal tube from the roof of the ceiling sort of like an old telescope which overlooked the operating table as unknown plants littered the floor like weeds.
A strange red orb appeared out of nowhere as it now hovered mysteriously above the table slowly spreading a red aura over everything In the room including the red line. Which changed it from its previous transparent energy form to that of a large red vein. I glanced around the room again and found an old steel door half hidden behind a patch of moss. I rushed over and brushed off most of the moss only to find it locked. I decided to try and find something to break open the door.
As I walked around the lab, something whispered into my ear, beckoning me towards the shiny yet eerie red orb. The vein changed its position from my back to where it originally was. I felt entranced by it as my mind went blank with each step I took. Once I stood before it I extended my hand towards It trying to grasp it with a single hand, the orb mimicked my movement as It extended wisps of red energy of its own towards my hand. They slowly curled around my hand as It spread up my arm and to my chest where It united with the vein that dragged me here before covering everything below my shoulders. it headed up my neck and climbed my face before slowly converging in the middle of my forehead.
I let out a bone chilling shriek as floods of unknown information filled my head. Blood seeped out of every corner of my body as I curled into a ball on the now bloody floor. The process felt like a thousand needles were being stabbed into me all at once creating new pores all throughout my body with each burning second that passed.
The pain eventually started to subside, but blood continued seeping out of my body, I was slowly but surely being changed whether for the better or worse I couldn't tell.
The blood that had seeped out of me started reentering me and shortly after returned with this time being different as it created black shoulder plates that had a single spike in the shape of a black pyramid with a red line going around the pyramid. Yet it seemed it wasn't done with just that as it continued down onto my arms. I watched In amazement as It created some kind of artificial flesh that didn't belong to me but still made me feel stronger. It felt like I was suddenly pumped with both adrenaline and steroids at the same time. However, the armor protected my arms sparingly as the front of my hands were barely protected with the exception being near the joints which had a few black rings which seemed to hold the new flesh in place like thick zip ties.
The blood carried on as it formed a chest plate and leg armor which changed into some kind of light metal that hardly weighed anything. I marveled at the exterior design of the chest plate which featured a fully black insignia of an organization or something In the center of the chest piece with two dragons made of vines surrounding it and multiple cracks that surrounded it all. On the inside of the chest plate it was covered in lush red fur which gradually whitened as it got closer to the holes of the limbs. The fur felt comfortable to the touch sort of like the fur of a fluffy dog.
Just as I was about to check the leg armor out, I heard someone's stomach grumbling but it definitely wasn't mine as I couldn't feel hunger in this place. I quickly turned around while raising my fists in preparation to give whatever was behind me a good beating with my new found strength. Only to pale at the sight of several massive Venus flytrap mouth's of various sizes with lots of pointy green thorns coming out from the top of their heads.
All of the plants seemed to be smiling at me, one of the mouths which stood out among it's brethren due to it's small size and unique pure yellow color was practically drooling acid onto the lab's floor which made a sizzling and occasionally a pop as it burned a small hole onto the floor which glowed a light orange.
I watched as one of the many green mouths hit it's head with a green vine which made the little mouth turn towards the owner of the green vine. Which gave me a good view of what laid behind it all, roots. They all seemed to come out of one spot in the ground and luckily didn't have legs which was a relief. ~Imagine if they did though~ I shivered at the thought of a multi-headed plant monster that could walk.~I should get out of here before they notice~
The two mouths began to fight while the other mouths gave them some space to duke it out and watched in amusement. While the family was distracted by the two, I hurriedly tiptoed my way to the steel door and pounded on the rusty door with all my might creating heavy dents in the shape of my fists. After getting 3 good hits in the biggest plant mouth pushed them apart ending their little skirmish much to the others disappointment but it was at that moment that the plants finally noticed me but it was too late as I struck the door once more which sent the rusty steel door off it hinges and into the air. I rushed outside only to find myself where I was prior with the only difference being the moon replaced the sun.
The shrieks of the plant mouths could be heard from the lab as I scanned the area and saw another piece of land which was a massive rock with a large chunk of it missing making it look like a cave entrance. I rushed towards It wanting to put more distance between the plant mouth and myself. As I ran I watched as my boots created ripples in the water smudging the eerie reflection of the moon above. Until something disturbed the water behind me causing the water to splash and clash with the ripples that I created. I decided to ignore whatever was behind me and focused on running as I neared the cave entrance. I was still a couple feet away from the cave when I took notice of numerous wooden planks which blocked it off. Seeing no other choice I mentally prepared to ram my armored shoulder into it once I neared. I was right in front of the wooden planks when something hit the water just to my right, just as I rammed my shoulder violently into the rotten planks causing massive chunks of wood to fly through the air as splinters hit the cave walls before eventually falling into a hole alongside me. While I fell I took one last glance at the hole I had just fallen through and saw the plant mouths roaring in anger, deciding to give them a little treat I gave them the middle finger. The small mouth grabbed a piece of a shattered wood plank and threw it with surprising accuracy as it found its mark, my head.
.....
POV: Dr. Eroni, Head of AI development at Clovis brays, Project lead on the Exo Lighthouse project
"Thank you for meeting with me Mr. Bray, allow me to get straight into the issue sir. We need more human subjects in order to meet the deadline and eliminate any possible delay.
"Hmm I'll give you a couple options Dr. Eroni 1. Reassign the people designated to receive the exo operation in cryo pods. 2. Use your staff. 3. Experience the delays but be prepared to lose everything that you have." He says with a malicious undertone and a sly smile. I sat there gobsmacked before standing up and slamming my palms onto the desk "Those are not viable options for me and you know it! If you insist on forcing me to conform to those options without alternatives. I will report you to OSHA." I angrily said while pointing at hm only to be surprised when Clovis Bray simply laughed.
"You think you can threaten ME with OSHA? I own all of them! " He said with an evil cackle before looking up thoughtfully with a grin as he listed off the executives and advisors that he had on his payroll.
"Personally Doctor, I would recommend considering the options I gave after all poor Elizabeth is still sitting at home 'all alone'" Clovis mockingly said
I gulp nervously before saying "P-Please Mr. Bray, there's no need for that, I-I just need-d some time to select t-the best one, Mr. Bray" I said with a nervous smile.
"Of course Doctor but be quick about it after all time stops for no one" Clovis said cheerfully with a grin on his face that made you want to punch him.
~This fucker is going to be the end of me~ I said in my mind as I respectfully nodded at him with a nervous smile and ended the meeting before falling into the chair while patting the side of my thigh.
~I absolutely can't use my own people, It'll ruin any good faith they have in both me and the project itself. Perhaps I can use those old researchers, Lizzy should still be preparing to copy their consciousness into the exo's system files. I just have to ask her to send the people that she's already finished with to me. All that will remain Is a little bit of convincing and it'll all be back to normal~ I told myself as I dug through my recent contact log on the holographic projector.
"ah Doctor Eroni, I see you've made up your mind, so tell me what will it be?" He calmly asked before turning around and erasing my name from a whiteboard with several of my colleagues names written on it.
"The decision I came to is to reassign my fellow researchers that were designated to receive the exo operation" I say with my best attempt at sounding confident in front of the man that doesn't have an issue with getting his gloves dirty.
"Good, I'll be expecting some very good results from you, Doctor." Me. Bray said with a wide and unsettling grin.
"O-of course sir I-I won't disappoint." I quickly say before ending the call and laying back on my chair as beads of sweat I didn't even know were there started rolling off my forehead. "God I hope we can manage." I worryingly tell myself as I loosen my tie and pour myself a glass of wine to help me relax a bit.
An audible notification from my computer arrived just as I was about to take a sip of my wine. I place it back on my desk regretfully before turning towards my computer and opening my gmail. It was a report from Angela, one of my best field agents, that stated that the facility in Los Angeles has been compromised but the recovery of all data has been successful; however personal recovery has borne some fruit but is still underway. An attached picture showed hall 1 and 2 with field agents testing cryo pods to see who was and wasn't a frozen corpse. Another report was later sent stating that the rest of the personnel had been found scattered throughout the facility as mummified corpses. Cause of death unknown.
"An acceptable loss their contributions will not be forgotten" I said to myself before replying "have the demo teams destroy the Los Angeles base energy reactor. Keep me updated if anything happens." Perhaps I should apply for a vacation...no, Mr. Bray won't let me go until the siva is at least out of its current stage.
….
Pov: Adam
I woke up in a cave full of pure red cables that ran through three holes each bathed the entrance to its respective holes in a different color. I found myself without the armor and It felt like I was going through cold turkey but that was an issue for later.
The first hole which was right in front of me had the glow of the sun shining out of it. The red wires that headed inside hole #1 were a nice warm shade of orange, none of the other cables that headed into the other holes changed colors. Then there was the hole to my left which emit a light blue hue which reminded me of electricity which I Immediately ruled out. I shifted my gaze to the last hole which was to my right emanating a dark purple light which made me feel safe but in a strange way, a way that felt unsettling the longer I gazed it. Through process of elimination I decided to head through the one that emitted what I hope is sun light.
I felt the cave shake as I stood there motionless whilst staring up at the ceilings in anticipation of something falling on me. Perhaps it was the plant mouths or perhaps something else trying to get me but whatever it was quickly stopped to which I released a breath I didn't even know I had held in. I quickly decided to pick up the pace as I didn't want the tunnel to collapse with me in it so I got into the hole.
After a while of crawling through the small tunnels the ground beneath me gave out, making me hit the sandy floor of a weird wrestling ring opposite of me was a buff fat guy wearing a weird mask and jeans that read "Cabal" on the left leg and "Rule" on the right one. ~I'm definitely gonna get my ass handed to me, if we fight~ He wasn't wrong in the slightest as he immediately got folded like an omelet.
Luckily, upon losing I found myself back in the corner where I began. I watched in confusion as I had already seen him do this.~This has to be a simulation right. I already fought him, maybe I can use this to my advantage~ I fought him again and again each time lasting longer and longer until I beat him for the first time in hand to hand combat. As I celebrated my first win It was cut short when a dark orange hole opened up beneath me and swallowed me whole. I found myself at the start repeating the same scenario but with a couple of changes he patted a new tattoo that I hadn't seen on him, it had an axe in the middle of the sun.
The tattoo seemed to ripple as he pushed his hand into it while grunting in pain. As soon as the axe came out, he roared to the crowd with his back turned to me. I follow where's looking and see an exo in the crowd holding up a sign to pull my axe out. I quickly examined myself and sure enough I had one on the back of my hand. I tried to grab it but only ended up pinching myself, I tried again desperately and was about to give up. When I heard someone's shout "what a loser can't even pull out his own hammer" the crowd continued to mock me as I got angrier. I finally managed to pull out my axe which I then threw at the closest person to me, my opponent.
Luckily, he didn't have his guard up as my axe snapped both his legs off, splattering those in the front row of the ring with his blood. The screams of the audience seemed to be of excitement as my opponent lay on the ground slowly creating a pool of blood from his leg wound yet he didn't give up and instead came crawling at me with his axe in hand without the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. I watched as he approached by crawling with a single hand as anger emanated from his eyes as I just stood still and watched. I decided to stop wasting time and charge at him only to find myself getting stabbed the next moment by the top half of a wrestler. All it took was a single moment for me to process what had happened, he buried his axe in the sand and using a single arm threw himself at me and tore through my neck in a matter of seconds. I found myself standing opposite of him once again as the realization fell upon me. ~I was overconfident and killed by a crippled man~ My anger slowly turned into rage as I immediately charged towards the man with my axe. However he doesn't even attack, he just looks at me pitifully as he easily parry's each and every single one of my attack whilst barely moving. My rage hasn't subsided in the slightest as I go in for more only to be blocked again and again and again.
The fifth time I go to attack he decides to change things up and disarms me by throwing my axe across the arena but It didn't matter to me as I proceeded to use my fists. I took a quick jab at him but it must've felt like slow motion to him as he accurately cut off my hand perfectly through the wrist right as it was about to hit him. At that moment I realized the error of my ways. I wasn't here to suffer at the hands of an imaginary foe, I was here to learn the ways of combat from him. However my clarity was cut short as my opponent beheaded me.
...….
Pov: Han
Ten days after the meeting about the test subjects
"Where do we place these cryo pods? '' questioned a black frame. "Place them next in hall 2." She directs while calling for a technician to hook them all up. After waiting about ten minutes, a guy in a black jumpsuit and a black duffle bag shows up "where are the cryo pods?" The man asked mrs.mada.
"They're in hall 2 by the way its good to see you're doing well Han, I was so worried when you caught that nasty cold." She says, smiling warmly.
"I've never been better now that it's gone Amy." The man said while smiling warmly before walking to the cryo halls. The cryo pods were attached to a bronze ring which held them in place on the ground. Han then grabs four bracelets the size of a water jug, and one flat head screwdriver from the bag. He puts a bracelet near four badly camouflaged holes that surround the ring like a box. He then grabs his screwdriver and drives it into the badly camouflaged holes lifting the tiles that cover the holes. He then proceeds to pull out a black power cable up and out of the hole before sticking a bracelet on it. Afterwards he pulled the cable towards the bronze ring and attached it. Han repeated this process 3 more times. He then grabs the four floor tiles and places them in his duffel bag.Once he finished he grabbed the phone and called his manager.
"Erick, I've finished installing the cryo pods in hall 2." I tell my boss through the phone.
"Okay, stay there to make sure it doesn't break due to the power"Erick says hastily ~kind of strange but maybe I can get some more money out of this~
"Alright fine but I better be getting overtime pay" I tell him only to receive a reluctant fine.
I wait a few minutes and see the ring light up a light blue color. I called my boss again
"it's working just fine." I tell him plainly. "Alright come on back, your paychecks going to waiting for you here." My boss says nervously.
As I make my way towards Edwards office I notice some security officers off to the side show a guy in a red Bennie a holographic wanted picture of a guy in a jumpsuit just as I walked by the man in the red Bennie pointed at me as I stood there confused as the officers draw their firearms.
"Stop your under arrest Han Kovult" they shout at me. I quickly raised my hands into the air without much resistance.
"What have I done wrong officer?" I questioned as the officers cautiously approached.
However I would never get to the answer to my question as a chunk of a charred spaceship slammed into the corridor killing them upon impact while emitting a high pitched screeching as it continued digging deeper into the facility. I was sent flying backwards as if in slow motion I looked towards the guy in a red Bennie who had sold me out only to see him about to get impaled by a metal sheet which had separated from the large chunk of charred metal. A smile grew on my face, his head was slowly deformed by the metal sheet into what could only be described as grotesque until it finally came out the other side and into the wall behind him. Then there was me, the man who lived in the walls of this facility until I replaced my look alike permanently. It felt strange as I just layed there in a pile of my own blood slowly making my way to death's doors while covered by what felt like a warm red blanket. Alarms blared but I didn't care As I breathed my last breath a smile breaks out for I have died with no regrets.
Facility staff steadily surrounded the large chunk of charred metal on all levels of the facility from the 3rd floor all the way to.
However this was all for nawt as something slowly ate its way out of its charred prison. Personnel on varying floors could hear the thuds of support beams falling within, whilst the metal groaned as if in agony. It was at that moment when an ordinary scientist on the 3rd floor cut a hole the size of his eye using a laser cutter he had at hand, upon looking in.
A couple of researchers surrounded and bombarded him with questions as he looked through the small hole. Yet within seconds of peaking inside the man started trembling as he backed away slowly before suddenly stopping. He proceeded to turn around with a crazed look on his face as he started laughing like a villain.
"long live ohsho. SIVA!!! consume and replicate this facility! For the future of our GREAT and GLORIOUS cause will be beautiful." The zealot proclaimed as he raised his hands in the air, a crazed smile plastered on his face as he continued laughing. He turned to look at his previous colleges joyfully which painted a stark contrast as the rest of the scientists were horrorfied at what he had done. They ran as fast as they could, some even managed to trip over nothing and get trampled by other scientists who couldn't care less about someone else other than themselves.
The zealot watched with glea as the scientists ran over one another to get away from what was to come. "Do not resist for you will only prolong your pain!" The zealot shouted just as a piece of metal shot out from the charred prison at an insane speed that was barely visible to the naked eye. It easily pierced through the zealot's body without an issue and flew towards the wall only for a wave of siva to catch up to it and swallow it whole before washing over everything.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone