Futuristic Into the Dark

[Alite]

Adalric turns to the monolith, and steps back until he is just outside of the "noncommunicator" zone. "So, when do you plan on coming out, or are you planning on staying in there for a while". He half draws his sword, ready to attack if need be, and his other hand ready too turn on the communicator as soon as things take a turn for the worse.


@Jarkov Malachai

 

[Lenchan]

Islia rose to her feet in expectation as the doors to the bridge fizzed and opened. Her heart’s pounding only fluttered momentarily, relieved to see Sebastian alive, well, and unpanicked, but nervously awaiting Adalric’s form to appear behind him. “And Adalric??” She hadn’t realized she’d been depriving her body of oxygen, holding her breath in anxious anticipation. The words the choked out of her made it apparent however and she inhaled deeply, feeling the combinations of many deprivations whirring her functionality. Mind your manners, she warned her body, I will feed and rest you later. She casually leaned herself against the console for support, awaiting Sebastian’s response. It hadn’t yet occurred to her to ask about the room or ponder the status of the other’s she’d requested report to the deck quite some time ago; her primary concern was assessing the two men she’d sent off into danger, though both clearly went of their own volition.





“Adalric is securing the room; he’ll be up soon.”





This was the only information offered, but Islia was good at assessing when there was more to be said. She didn’t even need to make guesses as she watched his fingers glide over the panel with familiarity she didn’t possess, sealing off most of the passageways in the cargo hold area from which he’d just returned. “Sebastian…” she began carefully, her eyes fierce and her face stoic. He’d tell her what he felt she needed to know. She breathed in and out in exasperation, closing her eyes briefly and massaged the bridge of her nose absently before opening them and turning away from him. “The others will be coming to the flight deck. I was going to suggest Alex find you and technician Sturge, for Arthur to play crowd control, and for our nurse to be on standby her in my stead, in case,” she paused and redirected her sentence. “I believe the power outage is due to a flood in one of the fuel cells. I will be returning to the payload to drain it and restore power.”





She picked up a communicator and paused, avoiding making eye contact with anything in particular. Something was itching at her resolve, but she ignored it. At that moment, Caitlyn burst into the room, looking worried and exhausted. Islia approached and smiled absently at the woman, before looking over her shoulder at Sebastian. She’d leave this to him as well. Without another word, her departed for the generators and 10 - 15 minutes later, the lights were flickering back to life, humming and sputtering to find their connection, solid and secure.

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian shakes his head from side to side with another solemn glare. He locks his eyes onto the console in front of him as he begins to bar off certain sections of the ship. Notably, the cargo-hold would be disconnected from both the service hallway to 7B and the flight deck. Anyone attempting to reach the flight deck would be blocked by a door that requires Sebastian to open it directly. Those who seek entry would have to contact him.


He looks over his shoulder at Caitlyn for a brief moment, before turning his head back to the console. "Caitlyn, please wait with the refugees. Bring our medical supplies there. Tend to any of the sick and panicked,". The young man was clearly having an inner emotional termoil, and wanted to be left alone. His eyes lock onto the red planet before them, letting a sigh worm out of his lips.


"Prepare for our imminent descent to our new home, as well. We'll be arriving in three to four hours," He glares down at his hands, which lay atop one of the floating monitors. "Make sure we have enough respirators to go around. Start passing them out. Children first, then adults. Official crew are to receive respirators in the following order after the refugees have been tended to. Islia gets one before any of us. Then Arthur and his daughter. Then you, followed by Alex and Adalric. I'll be receiving one last. If there's any left,".
​

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

The Dark holds The truth

'Coming out?''coming out'coming out'coming out'comingout'comi-ut' The monolith seemed to mock Adalric, remaining inert and functionally useless, his own words echoing around the cargo room making him realize just how foolish he sounded. A dead bunch of metal that had not satisfied his darker thoughts of monsters, both literal and metaphorical. 'Just what made you think I contained something? Or someone? Your just a scared little boy trying to prove himself a man.' The Casket sneered, the chains tinkling their agreement, swirling about Adalrics head as if they were pointing and laughing at him.


'you see shadows in the dark when theres nothing there yet you have to make It sound as if you are not simply afraid of the dark so you refuse to accept that it was just your own cowardice. So you create these stories of monsters in the black to make yourself forget just what a little mouse you are' The temperature in the room reached minimal level, optimal for human life. Water dripped down from above, the frost which had accumulated in the chains above melting and pooling down below at Adalrics feet.


'how long will you stay here you wonder, to prove to yourself that you are not afraid? How long will you stay standing there blade drawn at a dead box of electronics, waiting for It to come to life? Who knows? Maybe the secret stash of playboy the owners had scavenged will animate and attack you? How utterly... terrifying would that be?' It teased by doing nothing. Not a single thing... it was just a box of metal standing useless in a forgotten room. Awaiting the day it would cease to serve any sort of function.

 

[Lenchan]

As the power cycled through, flickering to life in the room, Islia sighed audibly in relief, feeling the tension in her body fall in tandem with the sodor the was previously wobbling between her lips. Her left arm loosened its grip on the ladder and she left her body go limp, collapsing the rest of the way onto the metal hull of the payload’s sweltering room. Picking up the sodor, she flipped the flashlight function off and tilted her head back, her eyes concomitantly closing for a moment’s peace. She breathed in slowly, purposefully, in and then out. In. And then out. A slow, pathetic smile spread across her lips as she assessed her body. Her limbs were trembling and she cognizant enough to know it was more to it than simple exhaustion. How much longer would she be able to ignore the signs building in her body. She cursed this unshakeable weakness, ever-brewing inside her. Once her heartrate had calmed considerably, she touched the comm on brought it to her mouth. “Captain, the ship should have regained power now. Please confirm.”

 

[Alite]

Adalric sighs. "So basically I'm dealing with a child who thinks they can cause fear just because they can give the monster under the bed effect to most". Adalric shakes his head. "To think that for a single moment I was scared". Adalric suddenly feels water start to seep through his shoes, and smiles. "So you feel like not hiding in a closet anymore". One hand holding his sword, and the other ready to activate the communicator, he moves backwards until his back hits the wall.


@Jarkov Malachai

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian smirks a bit as her voice rings over the comm system, "Confirmed. Nice work as always, Islia. Take a break, please,". The young man sits down on a chair that was centered within the flight deck. He pulls one of the floating monitors into his lap. It had a layout of the ship upon it, displaying a variety of information. Sebastian adjusted the filters on it, soon just examining a heat map. The engines were in blue, the hottest of the ship. Where Islia was, a vibrant red. The cargo-hold, simply from body heat a normal orange. Where Adalric was, he alone was but a dot among a sea of blue. He was in the coldest portion of the ship. A blip of heat marked him.


Sebastian threw the monitor aside, it floating away calmly. The young man removes his glasses, holding his head in his palms once more. He was worried for his old friend, not to mention the entire crew of refugees. The situation was still dark and didn't show any signs of getting brighter.
​

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

Seconds turn into minutes, minutes drag on, water rushed past the so called 'man' into the hallways. Still nothing, not a single piece of movement, nothing at all. The room was dead, even the metal chains had stopped their melody. Now it was just... quiet... with the hum of the engines in the background. Footsteps above, echoing through the metal pipes.


On the thermals however... a small spot of dull red made itself known on the HUD screen of Sebastian's. . . The origin was the casket.


@iTrinity

 

[Lenchan]

“Affirmative, captain.” Islia’s arm felt to her side, watching the communicator slowly drift down, settling beside her. As the fuel cells continued to fire off at their normal capacity, the gauges began to crawl back to normal positions and the temperature increased, making the room humid and unbearable. Islia dragged herself upright and ran her hand through her hair, pushing back her horrible, matted hair. I regret nothing, her joked silently at her haircut. But as quickly as it came, the smile faded. Always something to weigh down the light desperately vying for strength in her… It would be several more faulty haircuts and restless days before the irrigator was operational.


She exited the engine room and made her way to the cargo hold to find Arthur. She’d pick up baking soda and perhaps any scraps from the long-passed lunch hour make a bit more progress before heading to sleep.

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian's ears perk up when a small ding rings from the tablet. He quickly grabs it again, pulling it back toward him. His eyes widen as he sees the second blip appear from the casket, his heart dropping in his chest. The young man's mouth hangs open for a moment, before he scrambles to a standing position. An audible, "Fuck," escapes from his lips. He quickly opens up the service hallways again, before he drops the tablet and breaks out into a full dash toward the cargo-hold. When he arrives, he flies past Arthur and Islia, pushing anyone he needs to out of the way.


This would be the first time anyone has seen the teen in an all out panic. Sebastian eventually shoves his way into the tiny service tunnel, beginning to yell. "Adalric! Get out of there!" His breath runs hot as his heart beats harder and harder, blood pumping through his veins faster than ever before. 8D. 8C. 8B... He was getting closer, but would he make it in time?


"Adalric!" He shouts again as he reaches 7B, dashing into the room.
​

 

[Alite]

"Get out? Are you telling me something is coming out... Close the doors. I'm staying in, and I would really rather not getting the whole crew massacred. Thanks for the offer though". He rips off the communicator, and throws it on the ground. He stands there listening. He is breathing to loud, and there are footsteps? Sebastian burst into the room yelling "Adalric". Adalric looks at Sebastian. "You are the biggest idiot I have ever seen at times, just so you know". Adalric sighs deeply. "Well, out or in I doubt I can stop you. Just make sure you close the doors when you make your decision". He draws his sword, and readies himself for whatever being that decided to take on the ship's crew to come out.

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian lets out a nervous laugh as he leans over to pick up an old scrap pipe. He holds it in front of him, a grin crawling over his face. "If you think I'd let you die without me next to 'ya, you're the idiot,". With that Sebastian walks back to the door, slamming it closed behind them. He gently taps the communicator, anyone who'd be close to this area may be able to hear him. "It's been a pleasure working with everyone. This is Sebastian and Adalric, signing off,". He pulls the earbud out, throwing it into the water.





He steps next to his old friend, patting him on the back roughly. "Ready?" Sebastian says softly as he looks up at the monolith.
​

 

[Lenchan]

Wandering into the cargo hold, Islia’s eyes scanned the mass as they recollected themselves, settling into their own personal sense of security after the lights had returned to chase away their collective fright. Spotting Arthur presumably cooing the sweet Sally into that same security, Islia made her way over to the man, but before she could get a word out, the doors leading from the deck hissed opened and Sebastian burst through them, stopping for no one. Towards the hold rooms. Towards 7B. The image of Sebastian’s somber face as he sealed off access to the area sent chills down her spine and she cuts her eyes to Arthur. “Keep them calm and if Alex reappears, send him behind him straight away.”





Before Arthur could protest in his usual levelheaded way, Islia darted off behind Sebastian and arrived just in time to see him disappear around another corner, yelling in desperation for Adalric’s escape. What in the hell is going on?? “Fuck me…” She willed her feet forward, pulling out the sodor and resting her hand over the switch to activate its laser. Upon reaching Sebastian’s back, she called out to him, slowing to a jog. “Sebastian! Sebastian, is Adalric…” Islia voice trailed off as her face twisted in confused horror at the sight of Sebastian slipping into the room and closing the door behind him. She reached it and immediately began fiddling with panel beside it, but it simply pinged annoyingly in response, refusing her entry. “Fuck me!” She hissed, overwhelmed, and kicked the door only to have another curse snatched from her lips as her foot jerked back. The pain hadn’t fully settled in, staved off by the enormous amounts of adrenaline fueling her. She pounded violently at the door “Adalric, open this door! If either of you can hear me…” she stopped the act of futility and yelled pathetically at the door. “Then open the fucking door, damnit!”





She backed away from the door, limping a bit and swearing again, and lifted the communicator to her ears again. When she spoke it was with composure she didn't feel in the slightest, her voice even and stern. “Sebastian? Adalric? Can either of you hear me? Bridge, is there anyone receiving??”

 

[Alite]

Adalric glances behind him. "Perfect timing. I'm going to give you a few of instructions, and you will follow them. First, when you leave close that last door that Sebastian had left open. Then get everyone to the first floor, locking as many of the second and third floor doors as possible. Ask Alex to help set up a defense on the first floor. Now HURRY UP AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE".

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian turns and jogs to the door, speaking in a low tone through it. "Islia, do as he says. You're going to lock both of us down here with whatever the hell this thing is. Get everyone onto the first floor, you'll all be safe there as long as you set a perimeter,". He slowly looks down as he presses his hand on the door, leaning on it for a moment. "Whatever you do, do not open the doors. Do not listen to my orders, nor Adalric's. I'm trusting you won't,".





He gulps down a small lump of emotion in his throat, "Understood?".
​

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

Awoken

Spoiler

Shadows… grey and black fading in with white… the sensation of endless floating… No dreams, no breathing just… existence without reason, living without life. Trapped in a cold, unrelenting nothingness which had no end. Something stirred the edges of conscious thought, a darker mass shifting through the shadows of its peers as the barest shred of a soul recognized another soul's presence.


‘What was it? Oh… it's leaving… alone again… all right… still be here… waiting...please?’


A light, a sliver of warmth permeated the ever present cold void of which it found itself in, a lamp, a candle flame wavering in the dark. A beacon which spoke of the end of this wretched not-existence if only it could be reached. Straining, pushing, worming its way towards that blessed heat, to leave the wasteland which it had suffered through. So close, so close, it was just there, just out of reach. It touched the star, and the light shined through.


The creature blinked open its eyes groggily, feeling returning back to its limbs one at a time as it slid back into a conscious state of reality. The small, frost covered grey walls of which it found itself caged in, identical in all directions it tried to look save for a single small sliver of glass just in front of it. The creature clenched and subtly stretched its muscles in place, relishing in feeling the power slowly return to them, the coiled potential which resided in every fiber of its being as its body heat banished the permeating cold. The organism stretched out its long neck to try to see out the window but found that its neck was restrained by a metal brace. Its mind still working slowly from the long sleep began clicking into gear trying to figure out what was the brace doing there. Where was it? Why was it here? What happened to it-


Eyes, the color of thunder, the color of the rolling storm clouds widen immensely as the memories, the images, assailed the creatures poorly prepared heart and mind, neither of which had recovered fully to deal with the onslaught of emotion that came with said memories. Memories of which had best been left suppressed.


Waking up, bound much like it was now, unable to move, to breathe. Bright lights searing at its sensitive eyes as strange beings surrounded it. Struggling against its bindings, but to no avail as the cold steel burrowed into its skin. The Needles, hypodermic sliding its way deep into its marrow to inject a liquid which burned hotter than the fiery salient mountain of which it once had called home. Cages, bars of black steel rising on every side so it could stare out into the world of which it was not allowed to live in, then of solid metal with no entrances, just steel on every surface, every wall, a iron cube of isolation. Voices which blared from seemingly every direction, the sound shrieking into its ear drums, speaking in alien tongues which it understood not, arguing, yelling, all ignoring its cries and pleas for release. The Mazes, the tests, the injections.


The creature struggled and wailed, a painful sound, inside its icy tomb, caught inside its memories, these horrendous flashbacks, a prisoner to its own mind as much as it was the metal clasps. Muscles bulging against their metal restraints, tendons sliding underneath dark, ebony skin like snakes before the bindings could not hold it back any more and they broke letting the creature's arms and hands go free of which they then began to claw madly at the metal walls which surrounded it in a complete and utter frenzy, as it it could claw through solid metal. Which scarily it looked like it could, each pass of the talons made a significant gouge in the metal but due to the status that the creature was in, its efforts were uncoordinated, just panicked, fear fueled. A second set of hands, 7 digit clawed paws reached up to its neck and ripped the bindings on its throat as if the 6 inch thick slab of metal was but paper. But still it was trapped, both in body and in mind as another memory forced itself upon its rapidly crumbling psyche.


Bound once more to a table, all limbs tied down, movement restricted It couldn't move! It couldn't get AWAY! Flee FLEE! its mind screamed, but it was unable to no matter how much it struggled. Terror filled every part of its mind as survival instinct rose up like a hideous beast and battled the intelligence for control, a tug of war match of which the Higher part of the creatures mind was loosing fast.


Bound, to that table, it remembered the machine which pressed it down onto the unforgiving steel table, which gripped its rib cage, dug its metallic fingers underneath the creatures bones and pulled up and out, tendons screaming in protest, bones cracking as they bent against their will, muscles tearing, ripping open the organisms chest cavity while it was still awake, sentient and could witness and feel EVERYTHING. It remembered the pain, the blood, the crystalized, blue sparkling blood which pooled around the table and filled the room until it drowned in it, until it was choking on its own blood.


NO! The creature screamed in its mind, in defiance of everything as it felt itself slipping away, unable to handle the flashbacks, the stress, the memories. The Temperature in the Casket and outside it began to rise exponentially as the ongoing mental struggle continued. No no no no NO! Instinct clawed at what little sanity it had left, tore it to pieces, shred it into small fine slips of paper which drifted off into the black of which it had suffered from and demanded that it be set free, to survive. In its desperation to escape, it cocked back its hand.


Schraaak! A resounding crash, the sound of metal bending and warping broke the silence. A fist sized dent, a rather sizable one, made itself known on the outside of the casket. Schraaak! Another one soon joined it, and then another one, as whatever it was inside fought madly for freedom, that in its frenzy, it was bending nearly half a foot of metal with its blows. The carbon casket grew orange from the massive amount of heat radiating from withi-Schraaaak! Another blow, another dent but this one had enough force to send one of the lining pins which held the door up to break off and shoot around the room with the force of a bullet, pinging off surfaces to fast for the eye to follow until it gets lost up above in the mass of chains. The entire box, even bound with all its chains, locks, lurched forward and swayed back into its resting position. Thermal scans showed the inside of the box was approaching temperatures of almost 250 degrees Celsius and it was rising FAST.





The creature was still trapped, almost consumed by its own desire to live, being torn apart by a body not ready to awake from its long and damning slumber. It was lost amidst a sea of horror. Red blood, blue blood, mixing together, being cut open slowly, just barely aware of it and yet nothing else was felt so acutely in its life. The dark holes it was forced into, the mazes it ran, never ending twists and turns that went on for hours, never being able to rest or sleep for days, weeks on end. Made to endure horrendous pressure tests of all kinds and no matter what it did, it never was enough to stop the pain. It was never enough to please them. The pale ones, the abductors, who took it far away from its volatile home, destined to a life of cold metal walls.


Another tremendous blow nearly sent the Casket over its side, the force behind that hit had ripped some of the chains from their mooring. Ice, and time had corroded away their strength. Though… it would have mattered not, the shock wave of that hit caused the chains above the casket to stir and rattle. The Temperature was now over 700 degrees Celsius and it just… kept… increasing. The metal burned a bright yellow, searing the air and causing steam to rise up from the water which had pooled about the floor. 800 degrees, 850 degrees, 900 degrees, 1000 degrees Celsius.





In order to survive, it would have to eliminate all those who intended it harm, to survive it would have to erase them, destroy them, bring about their end to ensure its own continuation. The small part of it which had been losing this battle for control made its final desperate attempt at grounding itself but alas… it was no match for millions of years of Darwinism at its finest. It was easy to tell the exact moment when it’s consciousness lost that fight. Its eyes rolled to the back of its head and when they came back around, those previously beautiful storm grey eyes were blood red, pupils so small they were almost invisible. Its last coherent sight… was the flames covering its world. . . ‘I'm sorry’


The Casket stopped rocking back and forth, a myriad of dings, massive dents from the inside going out littered it, broken chains and pins lay on the ground. The pause in motion gave the humans whatever time they needed to move, run scream, whatever.


“Sch-” Plasma arced from behind the sealed door as it finally gave way to the literal firestorm which it had contained so long, the locking bars blow apart, metal flies everywhere.

KABOOOOOOOM!

​

The sealed bulkhead that held the casket shut exploded off with the force of a bomb, sending it flipping head over heels, shrieking through the air. The force of the shockwave shaking the boys to their bones.Slow motion begins as Sebastian and Adalric watch the foot thick slab of melting metal fly between them. Time resumes. The bulkhead slams into the door leading out into the hall with bone crushing force, it bends the poor door in two and flings it off its hinges. The Bulkhead itself slams into the wall of the corridor outside and then collapses into a molten pile of slag metal.


Cast in shadow by the flickering flames which now filled the room, a single, 7 digit clawed hand gripped the now burning white hot metal edge of the Casket, liquid carbon steel filtering between its fingers. A single pair of blood red eyes blaze into existence, followed by another pair, then another till six, miniature suns rage in the flames separating the two men from the now obliterated Casket. The rest of its body was invisible, the roaring fire to high to see it, but those eyes… oh by the dark gods those eyes. They spoke of nothing… but death. No higher intelligence, nothing but the Primal urge... the Need... to live, to survive... God help those who got in its way. . . Sebastian's last orders of do not open this door... well they lasted about five seconds before a cluster fuck happened now didn't they?

 

[iTrinity]

That moment. That Earth shattering explosion, the bomb that erupted. As the chunk of steel flew past Sebastian and shattered the door, flashbacks of his last days on Earth clawed their way back into his consciousness. Nothing but death was surrounding him in those days. The death of his mother and father. His classmates. His friends. Everyone he knew and loved, dying over and over again in his head.





He had fallen now, scrambling to rise again. His instincts begin to take over, his hand tightening around the pipe he holds. "Adalric!" He barks out, looking in the direction of where his friend was, "Give me some signs of life!". He then turned his vision to the vibrant, blazing fire. He shielded his eyes from the heat, but was able to briefly catch a glimpse of those.. Eyes, if you could call them eyes. "Fucking run!" He yells, stumbling toward where Adalric was. If his friend was injured, he intended on getting him out of there.
​

 

[Lenchan]

Islia looked up from the panel beside the door to protest Sebastian’s demands but stopped short at the sound of something metallic groaning and a following clank of something ricocheting around in the room. "Fuck this!" she spat infuriated with her futility, pulling hard at the panel. Sebastian could damn her for disobeying later. The damage could be repaired.


As if the great thread of space streamed together to answer her desperation, instants later the sounds of yelps echoed, cut short by the larger soundof explosion, sending Islia off to the side, just in time to miss the molten mass collide with the door and collapse to the floor beside her in a heap. Her mind blanked, and her face contorted, devoid of all emotion save the growing fear.





She lay there, frozen, for a moment as panic saturated her psyche, grinding away at the edges of her consciousness. Tentatively she lifted her body up. What just happened? There was an immense amount of heat radiating from the room. Her eyes settled of the strange metal slab that’d forced its way through the door again. What in the hell is that? And more importantly, “Adalric – Sebast-“ Her fear spiked at the sound of Sebastian’s voice, though she couldn’t make out the words, the tone was one of fright that outmatched her own. Adalric… The motivation she’d needed was supplied and she was on her feet, ignoring the pang sprinting up through her leg. Before she could make to the threshold, Sebastian was screaming for Adalric to run. Again the pounding in her chest increased and she swore again, backing away from the door in preparation for whatever came next.

 

[Alite]

Adalric stumbles backwards, his first thought was that is a lot of heat. His second thought accidentally became muttered. "Oh shit, demon eyed being". He needed to stab between the middle pair. He heard Sebastian yell "Fucking run", and begin running at the being sword point first. That first stab intended to be followed by taking a step back, and swinging.


@Jarkov Malachai

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian's eyes widen as he watches his friend dive toward the fire. No.. That's the one word that echoes through his mind as he stares in horror, beginning to stumbles backward. "Fu...," He continues to stare. He'd spent his teenage years with this man. No, not just a man, his friend. As he gazed at Adalric, his eyes glazed over. With this he turns completely around, bolting for the door with all the strength he has. Diving out into the hallway, his expression turns into even more of one of horror. "Islia!" He shouts loudly, crawling over to her rapidly.


He'd sit in a kneel at her side, offering his hand out to her. "Get up! We've gotta' get out of here!" Sebastian looks back to the inferno briefly as he awaits her response.
​

 

[Ironrot]

(OOC: Will edit to format. Also, can we confirm where the monster is right now? People seem undecided but I think its outside the door of the room at least.


Side note, Apparently I'm really bad at BB-Codes, which is a little embarrassing as I'm studying as a software engineer... Trying to fix this)


Arthur sat in the dark, the pages illuminated by the beam of his torch. One of his arms was curled around Sally who was happily sucking on a lolly which she had dropped for her to find moment earlier. Gretchen's child, Peter was sitting beside him, a little annoyed by Arthur's explanation that that lolly was the last one he had.


Arthur was vaguely aware that, in the dark, people had formed a circle around them. He was unsure if they had been drawn by a desire for more answers, or to the giggles and squeaks of Sally as Arthur read. He turned the page.

Page One

"What did that say?!" He spoke, imitating the hairy blue figure on the page,

Page One

"On the cover, what did that say? Did that say there will be a Monster at the end of this book???"

The lights turned back on. Arthur gave a sigh of relief. He looked at the people.


"Told you so." He smirked a little, "Dinner will be served in one hours and fifteen minutes." He turned back to his story.

Page One

"IT DID?!" He turned to look at Sally then Peter, wide eye'd in faux surprise. "Oh, I am so scared of Monsters!!!"

Arthur only noticed Islia when she spoke. He would have asked her for the situation, but she left too quickly. Sally fumbled with the edge of the page.


"What do you make of that?" Gretchen asked Arthur, looking a little worried still.


"I don't know." Arthur admitted, "But, if there was something we needed to know, Islia would have told us."


There were a few more questions or murmurs from his surrounds. Where was Sebastian? What had caused the blackout. Were they really landing? Arthur has no answers, so did his best to diffuse the questions. Sally grabbed the edge of the book and flapped it against Arthur's leg.


"Daddy," She bent backwards to look at Arthur, "Read the story". Arthur took a deep breath...


The explosion range through the ship. Everyone looked around themselves in silence, waiting to see if all the air would rush out of the room. Arthur realized he was holding his breath and exhaled sharply. He pushed a crying Gretchen's free arm, the other holding Peter.


"Daadddy!" The little voice wailed as Arthur ran in the direction which Islia had.


"I'll be right back" He shouted, not breaking pace.


Arthur stopped just behind Islia, trying to make sense of the scene. He looked from the melted door to the unidentifiable flaming pile on the floor just outside it.


"What the fuck happened?!" He shouted to Islia.

Spoiler

[/sPOLIER]

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian looks up at Arthur. He was kneeling at Islia's side with his hand outstretched to her. "Arthur?" He yells, shocked that he was even there, "What the hell are you doing down here?! Go!" He points back toward the way he came, "Run! For God's sake, run!"





He looks at Islia, "Come on! Hurry!" His eyes fill with worry and panic.
​

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

Waking up in unfamiliar territory

The creature blinks then narrows its eyes at the onrushing Terran as if it couldn't believe only one of them was attacking it. It must be a trick, there was some hidden strength behind this one, they wouldn't send a simple man rushing with a blade.


Whatever it was rose up to its full height, almost over 9 feet of armored, muscled flesh. Its back legs grip the metal floor, crunching the steel underneath their grip, its four arms clench the sides of the broken metal casket and the creature crouches. Muscles ripple and flex all over its body, that armored chitin rippled before it tensed and then rocketed forward with such force, catapulting itself at him, that the metal plates it stood on crumpled underneath it.


It was at that moment when it jumped that Adalric might have realized the fatal mistake he had made in charging this thing. In the time it took to blink, it was already less than inches away from his face. Its muzzle, lips pulled back to reveal teeth as long as his middle finger filled his vision. Then they vanished just as quickly as they came. The creature slid past him gracefully, like a ghost, just over his shoulder, turning in the air like a torpedo aimed right at the prize... the Doorway.


He couldn't have swung at it, there simply wasn't enough reaction time to process it coming at him, raised his blade maybe. For something so big it moved so FAST. Its tail, trailing behind it slid along his jaw with its sharp as sin Armored chitin, slicing open a thin trail of skin of which blood trickled out from.


The creature slammed onto the floor with no less impact than a pillow and slithered into the hall where it paused to stare down the hall way at the humans there. the Shadows cast from the fire inside 7B made its exact features hard to define but there was no mistaking its overall appearance. It nearly reached the top of the hallway slouching! Four arms hung loosely from its chest, two legs, angled backwards like a cats touched the floor ending in some form of high heeled leg of which it poised upon them with a subtle ethereal grace with a tail about 1.5 x as long as the creature was tall coiled about its feet. But its face... that was the most terrifying yet entrancing. Like a Dragon out of ancient legend was the closest comparison the human mind could bring up. Six Burning red eyes which glittered like jewels in the firelight, delicate and precisely shaped like a masterwork gem cut by the greatest Jewel smith to ever live. A long delicate muzzle with a finely arched brow. It would have been breathtakingly beautiful... if it hadn't been for the fact that its eyes were filled with nothing but Primordial Bloodlust. That kinda puts a man off. But if one looked deeper inside those eyes, past the bloodlust which made ones insides quiver and knees weak they would see at its core... Fear...

 

[Lenchan]

Islia eyes were wild with confusion and fury. A million responses surged up in response as Sebastian crawled towards her from the intense swelter emitting from the room. A million questions, but none of them came; nothing but the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, raging over Sebastian’s voice. Islia flipped the sodor in her right hand into battle-ready position, pressing down on the switch to the laser-pointed in and took his hand with the other. Her heart sink, accepting its futility but her body steeled ignoring her mind’s screams of survival. Presumably Adalric had met his fate within the violence screeching within 7B.


Islia loosened her hold on his hand, and nodded firmly. If there were hope for him, Sebastian wouldn’t leave him behind. She trusted in his decision and followed him, as it was her best option, too. Still, they were on a ship afloat in the vastness of space, and it was clear to her what their next move would be. The death toll ticked away in her head, estimating, and she tried her best to shake its weakening effects away. They would not die here on this ship, no matter what the fate of the technician.


A fresh wave of urgency fueled her forward as Sebastian barked out to Arthur. Her face contorted again. The survivors. What was it she was running from? That brought Adalric to his doom? That would end them all? There was no time for answers. She braced herself for chaos.

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian tugs Islia up with him, pushing her away from his tall frame. Behind him, where he refuses to turn, stands the abomonation. The young Doctor smiles weakly at the woman, before he mumbles softly, "Run with Arthur, get this ship down to the planet. You need to crash us, now.. Maybe the impact will kill this thing,".


Sebastian then turns to the beast looming over him, just a few meters away. He gulps as he faces it. He wished some form of courage would come over him, like in the old movies. The hero would face an impossible foe, but somehow manage to defeat it due to his willpower. But this wasn't a movie. Sebastian wasn't a hero, nor did he have any willpower to keep going. He slowly and calmly begins walking toward the Dredge, despair in his expression.


"You killed my best friend," He mumbles quietly, locking his gaze with it. He was empty now, and even the horror that was caused by looking into those six eyes barely made him flinch. "You killed the last of my family.. He was all I had left,". His chin points upward the closer he gets to continue looking at it. By now, he'd be six or seven feet away, well within the Dredge's arm span.


"Well?" The young man looks at the creature, tears welling in his eyes and pouring over his eyelids like waterfalls. "You going to let me join them?" His arms are out at his sides as he awaits, his expression pained.
​

@Alite @Jarkov Malachai @Lenchan @Ironrot