Post by Drakmor on Oct 30, 2010 13:52:28 GMT -5
So, here goes. Comments, critique, whatever. I haven't handed it in yet, so I'll be able to add some more if I think it will help.... Suggestions for a title would be great too.
I was deep in enemy territory, where one mistake could cost much more than my meaningless life. I wouldn't care if they caught me, but then I would be letting down my world, the world that was locked in war with the mysterious planetoid that somehow attached itself to the side of my home planet, obliterating half the world in a minute and launching an unexpected attack on what remained. It was my duty, my obligation, to do all I could to stop the destruction of my people. We had no idea how to do more than defend ourselves, so elite scouts had been sent in to learn something, anything, that would help us save our world.
Two days in, I hadn't seen anything of note after I skirted the defenses that the invaders had set up. This whole place seemed to be a wasteland, a massive plain. I hadn't seen anyone, and only a few buildings since then, though I had a strange feeling that I was being watched, monitored, analyzed like a mouse in a lab. Nothing was familiar, not even the sky. All I saw when I looked up was a think layer of gray clouds that didn't let the slightest hint of sunshine through, only a variable amount of light that was always as dark as the plumes of smog it filtered through. The light didn't even have the comforting warmth of normal sun rays. All in all, I imagined that it was the same effect as living in a very large room with one of those lights that had a covering and a special bulb to emulate real sunlight. Everywhere, a thin layer of gray ash-like dirt covered the ground, innocuous enough until the wind picked up and a massive vortex of the stuff formed. The tornadoes always seemed to move subtly towards me when I saw one, and it happened often enough to make me think that it wasn't a coincidence.
The dust half-concealed the strange black metal seemed to make up the surface of the planetoid which was engraved here and there by mysterious translucent runes. They would occasionally light up with a bright white, as if there was a giant energy core under the surface, filling the eternal twilight with beams of light. The light would bounce off the smog-like clouds, filling the monochromatic world with an light that did nothing more than cause an imbalance of white. While the massive pillars of light were oddly beautiful, I knew that they were much more sinister than they looked. No one knew why, but somehow, whenever some of the runes glowed in a certain pattern, they would run something akin to an extremely strong electromagnetic pulse over both worlds, temporarily shutting down all electronic systems. Thanks to this, most means of air travel had to be gotten rid of; a of flights were abruptly ended by one of these flares and resulted in the deaths of far too many people.
I still saw nothing of interest, but I kept my guard up, though it was difficult to think there could possibly be anything that could threaten me here. There were few sounds here, other than the desolate screams of the wind and the endless clomping of my metal lined boots. Occasionally, an odd sound like the grinding of massive cogs echoed from the distance, but considering where I was, it could have came from miles away.
Too many stories had come back from hardened veterans who had came back gibbering and raving for me to not be careful, though. These were the kind of men who would kill their families if it was essential to their mission, who had campaigned off-planet whenever duty called, who had ripped aliens apart with nothing more than a knife and their bare hands when their rifles ran out of ammunition. People thought they had gone mad at first, and they had every right to. The things they told of were horrific, things that would normally only appear in one's delirious nightmares, but according to these men, they were real.
I shuddered, trying not to think about what I'd heard, though I knew I really should keep them in mind, considering that if I knew of some of the ways to die out here, I might be able to avoid them.
Yeah. Like that really reassured me.
It was getting darker than usual, quickly as it always does in this cruel mockery of a world. One thing that all the stories completely agree on is a fact that is usually common knowledge in places like this: don't be in the open at night. As the wind whipped mercilessly at my face, I was happy for the protection that my infiltration gear gave me from the elements. Without it, I would probably have died from the harsh conditions at least twelve hours ago. I hoped my water filter could pull enough out of the air, though, because there was no chance in the universe that I would be finding water in pools or streams here. And anyways, if I did, I doubt it would be safe to drink. Scanning the bleak horizon, I thought I saw the hint of a structure and two, so I immediately set out for them, hoping that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.
My fears were soon assuaged as I neared a massive warehouse building, seemingly the exact same design as the ones I'd spent the night in before, so I was confident I'd knew the layout well and I'd be able to defend myself there if needed. Of course, there was no point in taking risks, so I pulled my handgun out of its holster, and felt the pocket in my vest that held my back up one. I checked the gun I was holding over to make sure the dust didn't wear it down, then gave myself a small smile. It was rather reassuring to have the pistol in my hand, knowing that at the pull of a trigger, an electrically charged metal bolt with the power to kill a raging behemoth would fly out at amazing speeds. However, I'd heard that the armor of some of the half-human, half-mechanical soldiers of this place could repel a bolt as easily as a building's roof repels rain. I hoped that I wouldn't encounter one of these abominations, but I loosened the holder of my sleek assault rifle I had slung across my shoulders that had been modified by hand to fire stronger bolts that also explode on contact, which would hopefully, hopefully, work against anything my pistol didn't. While most of the gear I had was standard albeit for a couple of minor modifications, the assault rifle was completely mine, a piece of equipment that was always reassuring to me. I had put so many hours of work into fine-tuning and polishing the shining metal jewel that I could disassemble it, check it for problems, fix them, and put it back together in about the same time it takes a normal man to put on their armor.
I had gotten to the massive side loading doors of the building when I noticed something odd about the building: it seemed to be merged into the black metal of the ground, and when I looked carefully, I saw that it was made out of a metallic substance that just might have been the same metal that made the ground, just in a different color. I didn't realize the significance of this until later, much later, too late for it to do any good. My military instincts told me to not go into an unknown structure unprepared and blind, so I pulled a flashlight out of one of my equipment pockets, then clicked it on.
I pulled one of the gargantuan doors open with the hand holding my gun, and held the light up, but nothing was revealed other than the same massive warehouse room that I had known was going to be there. It was completely empty, just like all the other ones I had been in. The light flickered a bit as I moved it around- I'd need to make sure the systems were working properly. I stood in the darkness, waiting for the automated systems that had been in the other ones to turn on the lights once it detected my presence. Of course, the lights came on, though it seemed to me that it took a moment longer than normal. You're just tired, I thought to myself. Get some rest. You're making things up. Now that the lights were on, I pulled the door closed again, and an involuntary shiver ran down my spine. I had seen another of those strange dust spinners, moving in a direction that looked suspiciously oriented towards the door.
However, I smiled to myself, feeling a little smug that I had figured at least part of this strange place, and I began to walk towards the ladder that led into the loft where I was planning to sleep. As I climbed the cold rungs, I thought to myself that my sleeping had just as many tactical disadvantages as it had advantages. While I had a height advantage if anyone came through the ground window, there was that window on the other side of the warehouse. If someone climbed through that, I wouldn't be able to get off the loft quickly, as I had been detaching the ladder from the platform with the small energy blade that was part of my field kit. Then, I could pull the ladder up next to me so no one could get up using it. However, it was very risky to climb back down the ladder without melding it back to the metal, as it could easily slip on the smooth edge of the platform and send me falling at least twenty feet.
I went over to the ladder, and pulled out the blade. I was about to cut through the top of the ladder when I hesitated, noticing a few small marks on the ground that looked like the residue of a cutter, and I also saw that the boundary between the ladder and the platform looked a bit rough. Once again, however, I didn't realize what that meant, not until later. I removed the ladder from the metal, and pulled it up. Then, I sat down and got out my log recorder. All military scouts were required to use the device to send back reports at least once a day, in case they couldn't come back to tell the tales themselves. I had my doubts that the transmissions could actually get to the data satellites through the clouds, but it at least helped me sane. I coughed, clearing my voice, which hadn't been used since my last recording about twenty four hours ago, then pressed the record button.
“This is agent Darion Isi checking in, service code 3502N. It's impossible to tell what time it it here, and my chronometer has been acting up ever since I set foot on this rock.” I coughed again, my voice still a bit rough.
“Anyways, I haven't seen anything new to report since last time. It's just been more metal plains, dust and runes. The only structure I've seen at all is the building I'm in right now, another warehouse just like yesterday. If it makes any difference, though, it seemed that there were more dust tornadoes than there were for the last few days. I have to say, though, those things really creep me out. I don't know why, but something is up with them...”
I trailed off as a small popping sound came from the recorder, and its indicator light blinked off. Blast, I though to myself. One of those energy waves must have just ran by. I didn't linger on what happened for long, as I knew that the lights would turn off after a while, and they were a pain to get back on. I'd have to climb back down, because whatever systems controlled them seemed not to detect movement up here. What's more, there was a good chance that the ladder might slip on the smooth edge of the platform, so I'd have to meld it back on, then climb back down in the dark and walk around until the lights came back on. I settled down on the cold, feelingness metal, trying to find a way to rest where one of my pieces of gear wouldn't jab into me too much.
I laid there for a while, trying to fall asleep, but a prickling on my skin kept me awake. I turned over, and after what felt like an hour, I started to feel drowsy. Right as my eyelids began to close, a sound came to my ears. I sat up immediately. Other than a few sounds from the environment and myself, I hadn't heard anything since I started this mission. As quietly as possible, I unslung HONKault rifle, then clipped on the night vision attachment. My hand slipped, and the click that resonated from my gun seemed louder than any shot I could fire, echoing around the empty building. I couldn't tell, but I thought that the speed of the clicking increased, filling me with dread for some unknown reason. I looked down the gun's scope for the source of the sound, but found nothing, though my eye rested on a small door on the other side of the warehouse. I had been through the same door in the warehouse the night before, and it led to a barely lit hallway that branched off to a few office-like rooms and a utility closet that had been locked.
Suddenly, the clicking stopped. I strained my ears, but I heard nothing. Then, as abruptly as the clicking had stopped, air began to rush through a tube that was right above me, causing me to look up, surprised. The gusts ended, but I remained crouched, holding my gun at the ready, for an excruciatingly long time. When I was sure all of the sounds had stopped, I slowly laid down, then, after flipping my rifle's safety on, I clutched it as close to me as a toddler would hold a safety item.
Once again, I tried to sleep, but my brain kept wondering what that sound had been. Don't be an idiot. It was an air filter turning on... Do you really believe that? There hasn't been any air filters in any of the other warehouses, and they're the same as this one... I tried to reassure myself, but I kept finding problems with my own logic. Finally, my brain just overloaded, and I fell asleep. I still remember that the last thought that went through my head: Talking to yourself? You're going mad, aren't you?
I woke up suddenly. It was still pitch-black, and I felt the same way a person does when there was a sound right before they woke up- dazed, and knowing something just happened. Then I realized what it was.
HONKault rifle was gone, and there was a loud clicking coming from right behind me.
I sprang to my feet, pulling my pistol and light in one fluid motion, as I turned towards the noise. The flickering light glinted, revealing a nightmare.
The thing only stood about four feet tall, and I towered over it by at least two feet. It had been holding my rifle, but when I pointed the gun at it, it dropped the weapon and hunched over like a predator. It was humanoid, but made almost completely out of metal, and while it had no visible weapons, its fingers were pointed, sharp. Sharp enough to pierce my relatively unprotected neck, and probably my armor as well. Worst of all, though, was the creature's head. It looked like a metal helmet with a built in mask that looked like a skull, but underneath it was a human face. The head was severed half way up the neck, and connected into the torso with various wires. It stared at me with red eyes, seemingly unable to make any facial expressions, only control the the robotic construct that it was in.
Crouching even deeper, the monster's mouth opened in what seemed to be a scream, but no sound came out. Mouth still open, it jumped at me without making a sound, hands ready to impale me. I dodged sideways, before I realized that there was no platform there. As I slipped past it, I grabbed at the edge, but I hit it too hard and my hand was cut open. I continued to fall, picturing the blood streaming up out of the gash in the weightlessness of the fall, then dropping to the ground as gravity pulled it back down. In the darkness, I couldn't tell how far I had fallen, or how far I had left, making it seem like time had stopped, and that I was just suspended in an infinite space, where everything was peaceful.
Then, without warning, my back smashed into the ground. All the bones in my body felt as if they were shattered, vaporized, damaged beyond repair. I laid there, almost unconscious, just letting the waves of pain beat against my brain. Finally, one of the painkillers built into my armor decided that I was in a bad enough situation that it should administer itself, and the waves subsided into smaller ones until they disappeared. Miraculously, I was still holding onto the flashlight, though it was flickering worse than ever. I pointed it back up towards the platform, and I saw the robot-human thing in a silent flight towards me, its red eyes reflecting the light back at me.
While I had dropped my first pistol, I still had the backup one I always carried on missions like this. I struggled to pull it out of my vest, then held it up with one hand while pointing the light with the other, both arms shaking. I pulled the trigger, sending a earsplitting crack across the building, and a bolt embedded itself in the wall far to the left of the thing. I fired again, tasting the blood in my mouth for the first time. This time, I hit my target, the bolt leaving a rent in its armor. It wasn't enough to slow it down though, and I knew there was nothing I could do, but I kept firing. The echoes in the warehouse were louder than a thunderstorm, each bang being answered by one even louder, but my ears had stopped registering any sound long ago.
I pulled the trigger again, but only a click came from the gun, signaling that there was nothing more I could do- it would take too long to reload. More than half the shots I had fired from my shaky grip had actually hit, a feat I would have been impressed about in different circumstances. However, nothing had happened, and the creature was still coming towards me in slow motion, as if it was trying to taunt me with the inevitable. The echoes had all died out, but I was going to die next. It was inevitable. I was frozen, though, and I kept my light fixed upon my doom. It came closer and closer, and I could see all the spikes on its feet as well, all trained on me.
It must have been within twenty feet of me when it started to speed up, accelerating so fast that it almost blurred. It began to close on me, closing the distance between us, closing the book on my existence.
I could have reached out and touched it, felt the sharp blades, when the monster's eyes went white, the same white as the runes on the metal earth. It continued moving, but was slowing down now. It was falling too, lowering to the ground. It hit the floor, and it laid there, motionless, lifeless. My flashlight blinked off, but a hint of light was beginning to come through the window, so I knew I would be okay without it. I got up, knowing how lucky I had been, not only that there had been a flare, but that a denizen of this world had actually be affected by it as well. I ran towards the doors, ignoring the pain.
Pushing them open, I ran, but then I heard the same grinding noise I had heard before in the distance, except that it was coming from the warehouse. I stopped and turned around, awed. The building was lowering into the ground, melding back into the surface. I realized what this meant, why the warehouse had seemed the same, how the marks from my laser blade had been in both warehouses. The buildings could move. With the warehouse gone, with no traces of it left, I ran, running to get out of this place, the evil place that made me think I was getting somewhere when in reality I was just falling prey to its plans. I kept running until I saw the guard towers on the border. Somehow, just somehow, I found an unlocked gate that had no guards at it. Still I ran, wanting to get as far away as I could. I finally collapsed in the middle of a city, where I was taken to my base and healed, where I recorded this tale so people can learn.
I guess that if there's anything to be learned from this story, it's this: I certainly didn't get out of there on my own. I was let out.
I was deep in enemy territory, where one mistake could cost much more than my meaningless life. I wouldn't care if they caught me, but then I would be letting down my world, the world that was locked in war with the mysterious planetoid that somehow attached itself to the side of my home planet, obliterating half the world in a minute and launching an unexpected attack on what remained. It was my duty, my obligation, to do all I could to stop the destruction of my people. We had no idea how to do more than defend ourselves, so elite scouts had been sent in to learn something, anything, that would help us save our world.
Two days in, I hadn't seen anything of note after I skirted the defenses that the invaders had set up. This whole place seemed to be a wasteland, a massive plain. I hadn't seen anyone, and only a few buildings since then, though I had a strange feeling that I was being watched, monitored, analyzed like a mouse in a lab. Nothing was familiar, not even the sky. All I saw when I looked up was a think layer of gray clouds that didn't let the slightest hint of sunshine through, only a variable amount of light that was always as dark as the plumes of smog it filtered through. The light didn't even have the comforting warmth of normal sun rays. All in all, I imagined that it was the same effect as living in a very large room with one of those lights that had a covering and a special bulb to emulate real sunlight. Everywhere, a thin layer of gray ash-like dirt covered the ground, innocuous enough until the wind picked up and a massive vortex of the stuff formed. The tornadoes always seemed to move subtly towards me when I saw one, and it happened often enough to make me think that it wasn't a coincidence.
The dust half-concealed the strange black metal seemed to make up the surface of the planetoid which was engraved here and there by mysterious translucent runes. They would occasionally light up with a bright white, as if there was a giant energy core under the surface, filling the eternal twilight with beams of light. The light would bounce off the smog-like clouds, filling the monochromatic world with an light that did nothing more than cause an imbalance of white. While the massive pillars of light were oddly beautiful, I knew that they were much more sinister than they looked. No one knew why, but somehow, whenever some of the runes glowed in a certain pattern, they would run something akin to an extremely strong electromagnetic pulse over both worlds, temporarily shutting down all electronic systems. Thanks to this, most means of air travel had to be gotten rid of; a of flights were abruptly ended by one of these flares and resulted in the deaths of far too many people.
I still saw nothing of interest, but I kept my guard up, though it was difficult to think there could possibly be anything that could threaten me here. There were few sounds here, other than the desolate screams of the wind and the endless clomping of my metal lined boots. Occasionally, an odd sound like the grinding of massive cogs echoed from the distance, but considering where I was, it could have came from miles away.
Too many stories had come back from hardened veterans who had came back gibbering and raving for me to not be careful, though. These were the kind of men who would kill their families if it was essential to their mission, who had campaigned off-planet whenever duty called, who had ripped aliens apart with nothing more than a knife and their bare hands when their rifles ran out of ammunition. People thought they had gone mad at first, and they had every right to. The things they told of were horrific, things that would normally only appear in one's delirious nightmares, but according to these men, they were real.
I shuddered, trying not to think about what I'd heard, though I knew I really should keep them in mind, considering that if I knew of some of the ways to die out here, I might be able to avoid them.
Yeah. Like that really reassured me.
It was getting darker than usual, quickly as it always does in this cruel mockery of a world. One thing that all the stories completely agree on is a fact that is usually common knowledge in places like this: don't be in the open at night. As the wind whipped mercilessly at my face, I was happy for the protection that my infiltration gear gave me from the elements. Without it, I would probably have died from the harsh conditions at least twelve hours ago. I hoped my water filter could pull enough out of the air, though, because there was no chance in the universe that I would be finding water in pools or streams here. And anyways, if I did, I doubt it would be safe to drink. Scanning the bleak horizon, I thought I saw the hint of a structure and two, so I immediately set out for them, hoping that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.
My fears were soon assuaged as I neared a massive warehouse building, seemingly the exact same design as the ones I'd spent the night in before, so I was confident I'd knew the layout well and I'd be able to defend myself there if needed. Of course, there was no point in taking risks, so I pulled my handgun out of its holster, and felt the pocket in my vest that held my back up one. I checked the gun I was holding over to make sure the dust didn't wear it down, then gave myself a small smile. It was rather reassuring to have the pistol in my hand, knowing that at the pull of a trigger, an electrically charged metal bolt with the power to kill a raging behemoth would fly out at amazing speeds. However, I'd heard that the armor of some of the half-human, half-mechanical soldiers of this place could repel a bolt as easily as a building's roof repels rain. I hoped that I wouldn't encounter one of these abominations, but I loosened the holder of my sleek assault rifle I had slung across my shoulders that had been modified by hand to fire stronger bolts that also explode on contact, which would hopefully, hopefully, work against anything my pistol didn't. While most of the gear I had was standard albeit for a couple of minor modifications, the assault rifle was completely mine, a piece of equipment that was always reassuring to me. I had put so many hours of work into fine-tuning and polishing the shining metal jewel that I could disassemble it, check it for problems, fix them, and put it back together in about the same time it takes a normal man to put on their armor.
I had gotten to the massive side loading doors of the building when I noticed something odd about the building: it seemed to be merged into the black metal of the ground, and when I looked carefully, I saw that it was made out of a metallic substance that just might have been the same metal that made the ground, just in a different color. I didn't realize the significance of this until later, much later, too late for it to do any good. My military instincts told me to not go into an unknown structure unprepared and blind, so I pulled a flashlight out of one of my equipment pockets, then clicked it on.
I pulled one of the gargantuan doors open with the hand holding my gun, and held the light up, but nothing was revealed other than the same massive warehouse room that I had known was going to be there. It was completely empty, just like all the other ones I had been in. The light flickered a bit as I moved it around- I'd need to make sure the systems were working properly. I stood in the darkness, waiting for the automated systems that had been in the other ones to turn on the lights once it detected my presence. Of course, the lights came on, though it seemed to me that it took a moment longer than normal. You're just tired, I thought to myself. Get some rest. You're making things up. Now that the lights were on, I pulled the door closed again, and an involuntary shiver ran down my spine. I had seen another of those strange dust spinners, moving in a direction that looked suspiciously oriented towards the door.
However, I smiled to myself, feeling a little smug that I had figured at least part of this strange place, and I began to walk towards the ladder that led into the loft where I was planning to sleep. As I climbed the cold rungs, I thought to myself that my sleeping had just as many tactical disadvantages as it had advantages. While I had a height advantage if anyone came through the ground window, there was that window on the other side of the warehouse. If someone climbed through that, I wouldn't be able to get off the loft quickly, as I had been detaching the ladder from the platform with the small energy blade that was part of my field kit. Then, I could pull the ladder up next to me so no one could get up using it. However, it was very risky to climb back down the ladder without melding it back to the metal, as it could easily slip on the smooth edge of the platform and send me falling at least twenty feet.
I went over to the ladder, and pulled out the blade. I was about to cut through the top of the ladder when I hesitated, noticing a few small marks on the ground that looked like the residue of a cutter, and I also saw that the boundary between the ladder and the platform looked a bit rough. Once again, however, I didn't realize what that meant, not until later. I removed the ladder from the metal, and pulled it up. Then, I sat down and got out my log recorder. All military scouts were required to use the device to send back reports at least once a day, in case they couldn't come back to tell the tales themselves. I had my doubts that the transmissions could actually get to the data satellites through the clouds, but it at least helped me sane. I coughed, clearing my voice, which hadn't been used since my last recording about twenty four hours ago, then pressed the record button.
“This is agent Darion Isi checking in, service code 3502N. It's impossible to tell what time it it here, and my chronometer has been acting up ever since I set foot on this rock.” I coughed again, my voice still a bit rough.
“Anyways, I haven't seen anything new to report since last time. It's just been more metal plains, dust and runes. The only structure I've seen at all is the building I'm in right now, another warehouse just like yesterday. If it makes any difference, though, it seemed that there were more dust tornadoes than there were for the last few days. I have to say, though, those things really creep me out. I don't know why, but something is up with them...”
I trailed off as a small popping sound came from the recorder, and its indicator light blinked off. Blast, I though to myself. One of those energy waves must have just ran by. I didn't linger on what happened for long, as I knew that the lights would turn off after a while, and they were a pain to get back on. I'd have to climb back down, because whatever systems controlled them seemed not to detect movement up here. What's more, there was a good chance that the ladder might slip on the smooth edge of the platform, so I'd have to meld it back on, then climb back down in the dark and walk around until the lights came back on. I settled down on the cold, feelingness metal, trying to find a way to rest where one of my pieces of gear wouldn't jab into me too much.
I laid there for a while, trying to fall asleep, but a prickling on my skin kept me awake. I turned over, and after what felt like an hour, I started to feel drowsy. Right as my eyelids began to close, a sound came to my ears. I sat up immediately. Other than a few sounds from the environment and myself, I hadn't heard anything since I started this mission. As quietly as possible, I unslung HONKault rifle, then clipped on the night vision attachment. My hand slipped, and the click that resonated from my gun seemed louder than any shot I could fire, echoing around the empty building. I couldn't tell, but I thought that the speed of the clicking increased, filling me with dread for some unknown reason. I looked down the gun's scope for the source of the sound, but found nothing, though my eye rested on a small door on the other side of the warehouse. I had been through the same door in the warehouse the night before, and it led to a barely lit hallway that branched off to a few office-like rooms and a utility closet that had been locked.
Suddenly, the clicking stopped. I strained my ears, but I heard nothing. Then, as abruptly as the clicking had stopped, air began to rush through a tube that was right above me, causing me to look up, surprised. The gusts ended, but I remained crouched, holding my gun at the ready, for an excruciatingly long time. When I was sure all of the sounds had stopped, I slowly laid down, then, after flipping my rifle's safety on, I clutched it as close to me as a toddler would hold a safety item.
Once again, I tried to sleep, but my brain kept wondering what that sound had been. Don't be an idiot. It was an air filter turning on... Do you really believe that? There hasn't been any air filters in any of the other warehouses, and they're the same as this one... I tried to reassure myself, but I kept finding problems with my own logic. Finally, my brain just overloaded, and I fell asleep. I still remember that the last thought that went through my head: Talking to yourself? You're going mad, aren't you?
I woke up suddenly. It was still pitch-black, and I felt the same way a person does when there was a sound right before they woke up- dazed, and knowing something just happened. Then I realized what it was.
HONKault rifle was gone, and there was a loud clicking coming from right behind me.
I sprang to my feet, pulling my pistol and light in one fluid motion, as I turned towards the noise. The flickering light glinted, revealing a nightmare.
The thing only stood about four feet tall, and I towered over it by at least two feet. It had been holding my rifle, but when I pointed the gun at it, it dropped the weapon and hunched over like a predator. It was humanoid, but made almost completely out of metal, and while it had no visible weapons, its fingers were pointed, sharp. Sharp enough to pierce my relatively unprotected neck, and probably my armor as well. Worst of all, though, was the creature's head. It looked like a metal helmet with a built in mask that looked like a skull, but underneath it was a human face. The head was severed half way up the neck, and connected into the torso with various wires. It stared at me with red eyes, seemingly unable to make any facial expressions, only control the the robotic construct that it was in.
Crouching even deeper, the monster's mouth opened in what seemed to be a scream, but no sound came out. Mouth still open, it jumped at me without making a sound, hands ready to impale me. I dodged sideways, before I realized that there was no platform there. As I slipped past it, I grabbed at the edge, but I hit it too hard and my hand was cut open. I continued to fall, picturing the blood streaming up out of the gash in the weightlessness of the fall, then dropping to the ground as gravity pulled it back down. In the darkness, I couldn't tell how far I had fallen, or how far I had left, making it seem like time had stopped, and that I was just suspended in an infinite space, where everything was peaceful.
Then, without warning, my back smashed into the ground. All the bones in my body felt as if they were shattered, vaporized, damaged beyond repair. I laid there, almost unconscious, just letting the waves of pain beat against my brain. Finally, one of the painkillers built into my armor decided that I was in a bad enough situation that it should administer itself, and the waves subsided into smaller ones until they disappeared. Miraculously, I was still holding onto the flashlight, though it was flickering worse than ever. I pointed it back up towards the platform, and I saw the robot-human thing in a silent flight towards me, its red eyes reflecting the light back at me.
While I had dropped my first pistol, I still had the backup one I always carried on missions like this. I struggled to pull it out of my vest, then held it up with one hand while pointing the light with the other, both arms shaking. I pulled the trigger, sending a earsplitting crack across the building, and a bolt embedded itself in the wall far to the left of the thing. I fired again, tasting the blood in my mouth for the first time. This time, I hit my target, the bolt leaving a rent in its armor. It wasn't enough to slow it down though, and I knew there was nothing I could do, but I kept firing. The echoes in the warehouse were louder than a thunderstorm, each bang being answered by one even louder, but my ears had stopped registering any sound long ago.
I pulled the trigger again, but only a click came from the gun, signaling that there was nothing more I could do- it would take too long to reload. More than half the shots I had fired from my shaky grip had actually hit, a feat I would have been impressed about in different circumstances. However, nothing had happened, and the creature was still coming towards me in slow motion, as if it was trying to taunt me with the inevitable. The echoes had all died out, but I was going to die next. It was inevitable. I was frozen, though, and I kept my light fixed upon my doom. It came closer and closer, and I could see all the spikes on its feet as well, all trained on me.
It must have been within twenty feet of me when it started to speed up, accelerating so fast that it almost blurred. It began to close on me, closing the distance between us, closing the book on my existence.
I could have reached out and touched it, felt the sharp blades, when the monster's eyes went white, the same white as the runes on the metal earth. It continued moving, but was slowing down now. It was falling too, lowering to the ground. It hit the floor, and it laid there, motionless, lifeless. My flashlight blinked off, but a hint of light was beginning to come through the window, so I knew I would be okay without it. I got up, knowing how lucky I had been, not only that there had been a flare, but that a denizen of this world had actually be affected by it as well. I ran towards the doors, ignoring the pain.
Pushing them open, I ran, but then I heard the same grinding noise I had heard before in the distance, except that it was coming from the warehouse. I stopped and turned around, awed. The building was lowering into the ground, melding back into the surface. I realized what this meant, why the warehouse had seemed the same, how the marks from my laser blade had been in both warehouses. The buildings could move. With the warehouse gone, with no traces of it left, I ran, running to get out of this place, the evil place that made me think I was getting somewhere when in reality I was just falling prey to its plans. I kept running until I saw the guard towers on the border. Somehow, just somehow, I found an unlocked gate that had no guards at it. Still I ran, wanting to get as far away as I could. I finally collapsed in the middle of a city, where I was taken to my base and healed, where I recorded this tale so people can learn.
I guess that if there's anything to be learned from this story, it's this: I certainly didn't get out of there on my own. I was let out.
