Okay, so I warned that occasionally I may decide to syphon some of my terrible writing through here, so you cannot claim you’ve not had fair chance to evacuate. ;P
One of my Co-Workers was fixing to leave for a Week’s vacation, and I generally send him some Oddball quip in my Nightly Numbers E-Mail to him, for amusements sake. Well, I warned him that when he left, I’d have time to flood his Inbox with an “Epic” that he’d then have to wade through upon his return. He thought that was funny… until I made good on my threat.
This isn’t meant to be a “Complete” writing, nor was it well Proofread/Edited/Etc. I literally rattled each Chapter out at the end of the night right before I went home. So that’s the level of Quality present here. I’d originally meant it to be longer, but I missed a couple of days of work while he was out, and thus I shortened, and “Abruptly” ended it. Here it is, in all it’s “Glory”. ;P
*****
Peering into the darkness, he was once again accosted with his fears.
What am I doing here? he thought to himself.
For three days he’d been tracking her, and why? Because she’d stolen from his home? He knew it was more than that. But what. It’s almost like he knew her… though that was impossible. Wasn’t it? Moving forward, he lit a torch and decided that the why wasn’t important. He’d come too far to start having second thoughts about this. There was nothing for it but to continue.
Looking at the walls of the decrepit cathedral he was reminded how poor things were outside the Sanitization zones. People out here didn’t have access to the luxury’s he was accustomed to, and thus things were generally left in a worn state. It’s like their buildings reflected the state of their minds. What kind of person opted to live in an uncontrolled environment? Animals mostly. And the Mentally ill… though occasionally someone would willingly choose to leave the Safety of the City… That’s why he was here. To find out why. She was just an excuse. He knew that, but to have really made the choice, to actually be here… there was no turning back, and that’s what really scared him.
Coming to the back of the Cathedral, he heard noises. Sounds of people talking, yelling even, though it was muffled, like it was coming through a padded wall. As he reached the wall he started looking for a door of some kind.
*Snap*
He’d stepped on something, a loose board or something, and the sound of it was loud in the empty building. The noises stopped. He slowly turned to leave, and noticed figures moving near the doorway. He’d been caught.
*****
Climbing through the Broken Window, she couldn’t believe he’d tailed her this far. First he surprises her by leaving the Sanitation Zone. Something she’d never seen a Zonie do before. And then he managed to keep up with her through the wastes. It just didn’t make sense. But now she was pretty sure she’d lost him. Sure he was in town, but it’s not like he’d find her amongst all the ruins.
“You’re late.” her sender stated as a way of greeting, from his seat at the only table in the room.
“Thanks for you’re concern.” she replied, letting the sarcasm drip from her words, “I’m fine really. Don’t worry about it. I was just taking my time, you know, to see the sights.” she finished, throwing the carrier bag at him.
Peering inside, he asked, “Did you manage to get out unnoticed?”
She paused. She didn’t have to tell him she’d slipped up. It’s not like you expect to run into someone home during the work shift at a Zonie House. Though then she’d actually have to explain her tardiness…
“There was someone home.” she answered finally.
“So?” he stated, “What does that have to do with anything? You should have killed them and moved on.” he ended, narrowing his eyes at her. “Why didn’t you?”
How was she to explain to him how she’d felt when she saw his face. She knew she’d seen that face before. She had a knack for remembering people, but it didn’t make any sense. Sure she’d made a few runs into the Zones. But never Zone B. So why would he look familiar to her? She’d not bothered to worry about it at the time, needing to hurry and get out with her target, but still…
“I asked you a question!” he shouted, standing now, the bag laying on the table.
“Listen!” she shouted back, “I was in a hurry, and I didn’t want to make my escape any more difficult than it already was. You know how they respond to death in the Sanitation Zones. I figured I could…”
“Excuses!” he cut her off, “You always have an excuse for not killing people, and I’m tired of listening to them. If you think that..”
*Snap*
They both moved for the entrance to the front of the Cathedral. She had a sick feeling that it was him…
*****
This job sucked. He’d been “Pre Selected” at Eight to be a Protectorate. This was supposed to be some kind of honor or something. He must have missed the good part while he was sleeping through his four year training regime, and following 4 years of Public Service.
Sure they trumpeted it up. Making a big deal around the Zone for the populace, so that the people came to know, and even envy his position… but what they didn’t see was the grueling 16 hour days and seemingly endless amount of physical training they had to endure. From the moment he’d graduated ,not at the bottom of his class but not too high either, at 12, he’d not had a real nights sleep. At least that’s what it felt like. Getting to bed when he could hardly move, and up before his muscles had really loosened up. It was craziness… but he was supposed to honored by being there.
It sickened him to see the other Protectorates in Training (PiT’s he liked to call them) trying to outdo each other for some meager praise from the Teachers. He was just as content to let them ignore him, and though he never quite managed to stay completely off the radar, he certainly did a good job of keeping low. So it was a surprise when they graduated him early, and sent him right out into the De-Zones. The looks of jealousy his classmates gave him when the High Protectorate himself came and pulled him from classes a full month before he should have been finished was priceless.
They didn’t really give him a reason though. Which kinda bothered him. Just suited him up, issued him a roamer, and told him to patrol the outskirts of B-Zone. When he asked why he’d been pulled, they only told him that he was done, and they saw no reason in delaying him further. There were rumors that the last Protectorate had disappeared, roamer and all… so he was suspicious of their intent. Mayhaps they felt that he was expendable.
Coming into the ruins of old B, he was startled from his thoughts when his Life form Sensor started to blip. Pulling up the scan information, he could see that there were 4 humans in what looked like the ruins of a church, and two of them were armed with energy weaponry. Well, this was great. Now he was going to be shot at. Having trained for an encounter with rouge’s he wasn’t too concerned, but this would be the first time he’d actually run into anyone. Parking the roamer a block away, he activated his phasing gear, and pulled his stun rifle out. Locking the vehicle, he slowly made his way towards the door…
*****
He was tired of waiting for her. Tired of her excuses, and tired of trying to shape into the weapon that her father had been. Sure she was quick. That’s the only reason she was still alive. He’d tried to kill her the night he’d wiped her father, but she’d managed to get away. It had taken him several hours to finally catch her, and he was impressed enough that he took her on instead of finishing her off. Of course he’d had to wipe her as well. This was to be her final test. His way of making sure that she was ready to take the next step… and she was late.
Sitting at the Table, he thought about it… He’d known it was risky sending her to her father’s house, but that was the only way he could be sure. If she killed him, he knew she’d be ready. If not… well, no one would miss her now. He heard her before he saw her crawl in through the window.
“You’re late” he informed her. Not because she needed the reminder, but because he was curious as to how she’d respond.
“Thanks for you’re concern.” she replied, in such a way that he knew she was stalling, “I’m fine really. Don’t worry about it. I was just taking my time, you know, to see the sights.” she finished, throwing the carrier bag at him.
He caught it, and peered in. It was there. Not that he cared, that hadn’t been the reason he’d sent her, “Did you manage to get out unnoticed?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
She didn’t answer right away. He knew she’d run into her father. He’d planned this run during a time he was sure to be home, workday or not. What bothered him was her reluctance to admit it right out.
“There was someone home.” She finally answered him. At least she wasn’t going to try and hide it but…
“So?” he stated, “What does that have to do with anything? You should have killed them and moved on.” he ended, narrowing his eyes at her. “Why didn’t you?”
This was a problem. Did he evade her, stop her, talk to her… Why was she taking so long to answer, was she considering lying to him!? He stood, discarding the bag onto the table, and yelled at her, “I asked you a question!”
“Listen!” she shouted back, “I was in a hurry, and I didn’t want to make my escape any more difficult than it already was. You know how they respond to death in the Sanitation Zones. I figured I could…”
“Excuses!” he cut her off, he knew there was more to it than that, “You always have an excuse for not killing people, and I’m tired of listening to them. If you think that..”
*Snap*
Someone had entered the building. They both moved with practiced ease toward the passages that would let them out near the front doors. First they’d take care of this intruder, and then he’d take care of her. He wasn’t going to take any chances.
*****
It awoke with a start. It had never been given a formal name. It didn’t really need one. Most people avoided it from a distance, and anyone close enough was too busy screaming to call it anything. It had been comfortable though, and being woken up made it grumpy.
Looking down from the beams of the building it’d been sleeping in, it noticed a manthing standing in the back of the building. He was looking across at the manthing and womanthing standing in front of the doorway. They were yelling at the manthing, but it was hiding behind some benches. That was silly of him. They couldn’t seem him there. It didn’t understand why the womanthing looked nervous, didn’t know why the manthing hiding looked scared. What it did know was that they were being noisy, and it knew how to take care of noisy things.
It dropped from the ceiling, and everything was thrown into chaos. It was used to that.
*****
The Cathedral hadn't been lived in for several years. Once there'd been a small family residing in the back. The Husband was the Pastor, and the Mother and children helped keep up the building. This was before the world moved on. Since then, maybe it was the spirit of kindness that had inhabited the building, but for whatever reason, it had been left more or less alone for quite some time.
Then the Unliving Thing moved in. The result of experimentation, it was a fusion of an Embryo, and a Mechanical Monster. To call it alive was too much, but it wasn't quite dead either. They grew... though not in the way of normal things, and they consumed everything around them. After which they would rest... indefinitely if left alone. So it seemed that once again this building would be at peace, even though it now housed a monster.
Some time passed, and a couple of Humans, Man and Woman moved into the back. Sure they ventured to the front, but they were always quiet, this was their quiet place, and thus they never woke the thing. Again, it seemed the building would continue at peace.
More time passed... and now, too many people were here at once. Too many sounds, too many problems, and too much activity. It awoke.
Given the situation, it's a miracle that any of them lived. The two who had moved in turned on each other at the sight of an intruder. They were so intent on each other, that the man didn't see the thing as it came down on him. That's not fair. He saw it, but he was so convinced that "She" was behind it, that he went to take her out. That's why he died.
The young officer didn't see this happen. What he did see was the man's head come rolling out of the door. He'd never expected things to elevate before he'd gotten there. He ran in to stop the commotion. His sensor told him that there were two humans right in the door. A young one, and an older one. The young one wasn't a threat. His sensors couldn't tell what "It" really was. So he came in ready to deal with the older one. That's why he died.
The intruder wasn't sure what was going on. He didn't know what this thing was, and he didn't know what they'd been talking about. But he did know something. He didn't know why he knew, but he knew that her life was more valuable to him than his own. When the officer came running into the room, and pointed a weapon at her, he tried to get to them, before something happened to her. That's why he died.
She was paralyzed. She'd just watched this, thing Kill four people... and none of them had stood a chance. Not even the officer. The officer however had been equipped with phasing armor. This particular suit was an experimental model. It was meant to take someone else along when it moved the officer. "It" was still holding the officer's body when the suit went off. That's why "It" died.
She sat there... too shocked to move. Too scared to breathe almost. When they came, to collect her, where they knew they'd find her. They didn't ask questions. Their computer had never been wrong. It told them where to go. It let them know what to expect. And when they were told to come here by drop, and that they'd have a young woman sitting alone in a blood splattered ruin, with a charged rover sitting nearby, they hadn't even considered the oddity of the situation. Sometimes, it wasn't worth it to ask questions.
After they left, the building was once again empty. And it was once again left alone... until the next time it would be needed.
*****
Okay, so that’s it. Please forgive me. ;P
