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Post by osnafrank on Aug 23, 2022 17:50:09 GMT
Carrying on an SKMB Tradition....
The 2022 Ka-tet Playground's Halloween Story!
(A Horror Sci-Fi Saga)
By :
The Bringer of the PAIN, Captain America docpain2 !
Deliciously Devious Dio, the diobolic Darthonysius!
Edders the edwardjohn , our Playground's Resident Loki!
The Lady Tanith , of the Tale Spin TERRORtories!
The Love Song that is prufrock21 !
The Man of Cool Darkness, JB darkharbinger !
and
The Shape Shifting Gunslinger, the wolf .
Editor/Coordinator : EdwardJohn the Edinator!
Cover art and other illustrations by Wolf'IO MadGenius Productions
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Post by edwardjohn on Aug 23, 2022 21:19:24 GMT
Prologue
By: The wolf
Traxim Research Inc. had been working on many classified government projects for years. One in particular took priority, it was code named "Resurgence Force". After a decade of constant experimentation, on a multitude of 'subjects', their labors bore fruit. Strange, dangerous and rotten fruit. They had employed the use of a plethora of chemicals and elements, and even discovered some new ones, during their questionable quest.
The night of 'the incident'.
The lab was a complete disaster. Strewn with dead technicians and assistants, that were shredded and partially devoured. Equipment was either destroyed or left popping explosively and sizzling in flaming mechanical death throes. Blood, other liquids organic and inorganic sickly slickened the floors and walls. Materials, tools and paperwork were scattered everywhere.
The reanimated 'supermen' they had created had gotten loose, and broke out the lab. They were wandering somewhere in the building. The men who were in charge and responsible for it all coming about were safely behind a thick bullet proof glass wall of the observatory section of the lab. Shock, awe and horror scored their drawn, exhausted faces and tears filled their eyes.....
The sentinel onlookers.
Safely concealed from sentries and cameras, in a magickly conjured low lying cloud of cover fog, the witches Magda Cruxtabel and Cyrus Lavenkrept levitated and observed as well. Their vantage point, an upper window of the facility's laboratory. For over a month Cyrus, being especially gifted with 'second and third sight', had been getting mental flashes of events leading up to that night's events. Cyrus had seen the name 'Traxim' and a document entitled 'Resurgence Force' in his visions, but he could not clearly see everything exactly, nor pinpoint the location. Gifted as he and Magda were, they did sometimes need help from outsiders. He had conferred with Magda and acquired assistance from a trusted private investigator friend to find the facility. He and Magda were both particularly disturbed by the term 'Resurgence Force'. "Resurgence" being one of the 7 wonders of sorcery. And neither of them believed in mere coincidences of any kind.
Magda shook her head sadly at the sight in front of them,
"Cyrus. Do you think Brother RawRags and The BloodWorthy Queen are onto all of this yet?"
Before he could reply, a man's deep and hearty laughter arose from behind the mystics.
And a rich, whispery woman's voice said,
"Oui cherie. We KNOW. I been rollin' the bones and stones for days upon days now.... o'er this bad, bad feelin' I done had. The same kinda feelin' like YOU have had lately, Cyrus le beau. I have divined and discerned. And I set my Francois to sniffin' around. He came back successful to lead me and The Brother RawRags,
here to this place and you, mes amies."
Cyrus took the Queen's hand and kissed it, and shook the Brother's hand. Magda kissed both their cheeks, she tried to smile but couldn't. Cyrus nodded his heartfelt agreement as she said,
"It is good to see you again, Queenie! And you, Brother!"
The Queen fondly tilted her head in a cordial and respectful nod, RawRags bowed and doffed his top hat to them. Getting right to the business at hand, he spoke rather boomingly,
"J'adore pleasantries and catchin's up. BUT....Queen? What exactly is it we be faced with here, And WHAT are we to do...if anythin' a'tall?"
Magda and Cyrus carefully listened, knowing full well that this fiasco was more within their 2 companion's realm of expertise than theirs. The Queen (who was much older and wiser than all 3 of the others put together, no matter how young she LOOKED) drew in a deep breath, and with a louder more appropriately haughty tone, she too got right to business.
"By all the Loa and the ghost of Mother Marie Laveau, they really done went and did it this time."
Contempt and sadness intermingled in the Queen's facial expression. She went on (with a distinctive note of angry exasperation in her voice),
"These scientists.... mucking about with what they know little or nuthin' of.
They forget that all the things they've been usin' and experimentin' with in their concoctions
and procedures, come from the good Mother Earth.
Things from all over the world, that WE all have been knowin' and usin' PROPERLY
for generations, upon generations."
She reached down to her dress' cinch, where a 'magicks bag' was tightly tied. She clutched it worriedly, thinking more for a moment. The bag contained exotic spices, herbs and even sea-fare, amongst all of the hoodoo, mojo and juju 'tools', dried and ground into FINE powerful powders in there. All them 'tools' could be made into potions and gases if need be. She decided on how to continue, and told them...
"The idiots of SCIENCE have made a totally horrendous mess here. They have discovered things that I and others know and have known,
and they have raised a NEW,
strange brew breed of
ZOMBIE.
And they have most assuredly made a few missteps and outsteps
along their perilous and cadaverous way.
They've warped and foolishly tainted the primary 'recipe'.
We will watch carefully and see if they can right themselves
and their dastardly most misfortunate misdoings.
If they cannot?...well...then WE may have to intervene.
To fix THIS...THAT would mean,
I would have to smell and taste everthin' in their 'so gone wrong FORMULA'.
...to figure out exactly what remedy needs to be come up with.
An' I ain't much lookin' forward to that, mes amies!"
She looked at them all with a raised eyebrow and a dire scowl on her beautiful face.
The trio surrounding her gave silent consent to her decrees, with their rapt attention, and serious solemn gazes. The Queen finished,
"But should it be necessary, I will do what is called for, if and when the time reaches us mysticals.
.... With all of you to help me. Whether YOU or THEY like it or NOT.”
The Queen received respectful nods all around, and her final say was lovingly sighed,
“….We will see, mes amours. Be at peace. We got this, bebe’s."
The magickal quartet now more focused, all lowered back down through the foggy air to the ground level. They devoted their intense attention to the goings on in the building. That is until Magda suddenly felt searching, HUNGRY eyes upon her from behind.
She looked over her shoulder and gasped at what was staring at her,
"Oh Queenie! I HATE it when he looks at me that way!"
The Bloodworthy Queen turned and saw what she was referring to,
"Worry not, ma douce petite Magdaleine…. FRANCOIS! You stop that, and come here right now!"
The BoarMan obeyed, scrambling to his mistress' side and got down on one knee.
The Queen playfully pulled at his coarse bristle mane,
"Francois!...you know these are our friends, NOT food, mon Cher."
The Boar Man gurgled and grunted out a contrite,
"Sorrrrrry, missstrrrrrreesss."
"Later? I be tossin’ you one of those high and mighty science men," she purred to her pet, "…..and you can tell me if the learned fool tastes any better than your usual dinners."
Francois snorted bloodthirstily at the thought. He drooled, long tongue licking his razor sharp tusks.
Brother Rawrags grinned, and Cyrus silently took note to never displease or anger the formidable VooDu Queen. In ANY way.
(Illustrations by: Wolf'IO MGP. Track 1 of the sound track in spoiler) |
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Post by edwardjohn on Aug 25, 2022 19:58:21 GMT
Chapter 1
By: JB darkharbinger
 Deeper in the facility was a section of cells where Traxim Research Inc’s less successful scientific attempts had been abandoned like a bag of broken dreams. At one time, these cells had been filled with the misshapen, misbegotten remnants of where the natural tried to adapt to the supernatural, but after a series of cleanses, only one cell remained occupied.
Roux Hood stood in the shadows of the sections, watching the lights flicker off and one in an almost hypnotic fashion. How has it gotten so bad so fast? The facility has any number of failsafe measures in case the specimens got loose, measures that had been created by the greatest scientific minds with top-level resources. And yet, one by one, each failsafe had failed. Had Roux been religious, she might have believed this was some sort of punishment for tampering with the darkness. She might even have prayed.
But first and foremost, Roux Hood was a hardcore pragmatist. She would have never risen in the ranks if she hadn’t been. Anyone who was afraid of the night or invisible forces could never have lasted at Traxim as long as she had; she’d been a part of things since “Resurgence Force” had been a privately funded research project called “Operation Lazarus.” Things had been so simple back in the old days, before the government got involved…
Through strength of will, she managed to look away from the flickering lights and images of the past. She had a job to do, one she was unsure of but knew she had to follow through. There must not be a breach of the outer walls of the facility. If the zombies made it out, there would be no way to contain the damage they could create in a short amount of time. Had Roux known about the arrival of the magickally endowed quartet, she might have waited before taking this step, but unfortunately, she knew no more about their appearance than anyone else did yet.
The number one priority of Traxim was secrecy. No one must ever know of their existence, let alone of their slip up. The situation had to be quietly resolved, and since all the regular means had been tried, Roux knew she had to step up the game. At this point, the remaining armed forces were not going to be able to contain the zombies. That meant she had to fight fire with fire.
The empty cells of what was known as Ward 00 daunted her. They were the sum total of Traxim’s failures. Each one had held experiments that, had then been successful, might have changed the world. Now they were empty, each having been purged in order to maintain secrecy. Roux was glad they were dark; in most cases, the purgers hadn’t bothered to wipe the blood from the walls.
Finally, she came to the last of the calls. The overhead lights were still on, which meant the incident hadn’t reached the main power column. That was good; that means this nightmare could still be dealt with.
Outside of the cell was a small communication box/code key. It allowed limited conversation with the occupation of the cell. Roux pressed the red button and said,
“Armand? Are you awake?”
There was silence for a long moment.
“Hey there, little red riding hood, you sure are looking good.”
Roux frowned. Only a writer would have managed to put together the fact that 'roux' was a French word for red and, given her last name, used it as a joke to taunt her.
“I told you, I don’t like being called that,” she grumbled.
It was true, especially coming from what was in the cell.
There was some labored breathing,
“My apologies.”
Roux sighed and punched in the code 79FENRYR. The locking mechanism hummed dangerously for a moment, then buzzed the door open. She stepped into a small holding room just before the actual cell itself and looked through the reinforced glass at the occupant of the cell. It was a sandy-haired man of no discernable age sitting in the darkness.
“There is a problem,” she told him.
“I know,” he replied slowly as if each word pained him.
“I can smell it.”
She was sure he could. Even she could smell the rancid odor of the zombies down here, something that shouldn’t have been possible in the facility. When this was over, she would look into the matter, but there was no time right now.
“Why are you here?”
Roux swallowed hard before going on.
“Your…unique abilities are needed to put out this mess.
Accommodations will be made in your favor.”
“Accommodations? In my favor, you say?” Armand laughed.
Roux didn’t rise to his recrimination. It was his own fault he wasn’t allowed to have furniture and other appliances in his cell. There had been too many escape attempts.
“You heard me. Will you help?”
His eyes widened in the darkness. Roux was always a bit put off by how they seemed to glow with their own light.
“I’m going to have to refuse,” he said slowly.
“I see no reason to help you or anyone else at Traxim.”
“You listen to me,” she hissed.
“As it stands, you will never leave this room while you are alive and when you die, you will be dissected and burnt. I am offering you a chance to help others and avoid that. Are you going to help me?”
She watched his handsome but plain face as he considered what she’d said. Once upon a time, he’d been a semi-important person, a writer whose middle-of-the-road career was well on its way. He’d had a family, friends, and colleagues --- a life that many would be jealous of. But he’d been foolish enough to do one of those genealogy DNA tests, and the scientists at Traxim found he had the suitable Norse/Germanic genetic markers for a test they’d wanted to run. After that, the man had been brought here and left to rot in the last cell of Ward 00.
“I think you should be careful how you talk to me.”
“I think you should remember all I have to do is cut the air to your cell.”
“Go ahead.”
She didn’t have time for this. No one had time for this.
“Please…”
There was a subtle shift in the air of the cell. The man was gone, and in his place was a large, hulking, man-wolf hybrid with the same sandy-colored hair as before.
“On one condition.” It growled.
“What?” She demanded.
“We don’t have time to barter over petty privileges…”
“Oh, it’s not much,” it replied.
“I will clean up your mess, but when I am done,
I get to kill all the heads of this place, saving you, of course, for last.”
“Deal.” She said, opening the door.
(Illustrations by: Wolf'IO MGP. Track 2 in spoiler)
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Post by edwardjohn on Aug 29, 2022 20:34:20 GMT
Chapter 2
By: prufrock21
The offer and the deal.
Dr. Roux Hood unlocked Armand Johansen’s cell using a four-digit code. Once free of his cell the man with the sandy-colored hair transformed into a hulking man-wolf. She took a seat by the nearby observation area, and said almost beseechingly,
“Will you sit with me at the table, Armand?”The wolf-man nodded and said,
“Mind if I revert to my old self? As you can gather, my wolf behind is rather scrawny. And I would hate to have to sit on my tail.”
“Please, do,” Roux said. She stood mystified as the metamorphosis took effect. Armand transformed. First his wolf’s snout and ears shortened, becoming more human. His body shrunk in size, his limbs slowly transforming to those of a man not a beast’s. Then his blood red eyes gave up their hideous bright hue and softened. And finally, his razor-sharp canines shrunk to small human teeth. He transformed from hulking man-beast to an unassuming middle-aged man of average height and build, with striking blue eyes, a hooked nose and sandy-colored long hair, wearing corduroy stretch pants and an oversized long sleeve western shirt.“Amazing,” Roux remarked,
“how quickly you can do that.”
“I find it amazing myself. The wonders of science will never cease.”
He paused, looked at Roux.
“To business then. Good Doctor, what is it you propose I—that is, my alter ego—do?”“I—Traxim wants you to contain the specimens, the zombies.”
“And how do you propose I go about it?”
“Simple. As the werewolf, you have the strength, the power, and the cunning to clean up this mess, this disturbance, and bring order and calm to the facilities.”
Armand moved in his chair, smirked.
“Disturbance is putting it mildly. Continue, please.”
“We want you to inspect the premises, confront as many zombies as you can, and incarcerate them—either in the holding cells, which will remain unlocked for that purpose, or in any available spare room with a secure space. We have cameras on all floors, so we’ll be able to monitor your progress.”
“You don’t need me for that. I’m sure security can do it just as well.”
“Sadly we have lost the better part of our security force. And those men and women available, who are not dead or seriously injured, we will need to safeguard the scientists and other personnel.”
“Why incarcerate? Why not destroy them all?”
“Traxim has spent millions on Operation Lazarus, as well as other projects. We require living”—she made quotation marks with her hands—“that is, animated specimens. Rotting cadavers are of no use to us.”
“What about the zombies I fail to incarcerate?”
Roux answered quickly.
“Destroy them.”
“You mean … kill?”
“Technically you can’t kill them because they are already dead. You can, however, stop them from promoting further havoc. But you must do it in a very deliberate way.”
“Doctor, you have me intrigued. Which way is that?”
“We have found,” Roux explained,
“that the only secure way to stop a specimen once it has been animated is to destroy its brain.
Gunshots to the body won’t do.
With your strength, it should be easy for you to tear the specimen’s brain from its head.”
Armand made a face.
“Gruesome, Doctor. But I see your point.”“Also, you must not let the specimens bite you.”
“Why not?”
“We discovered a viral agent in their saliva and blood.
If you were to become infected, there’s no telling how your body might react.
Perhaps your immune system might be strong enough to protect you.
However, a bite might turn you from hulking man-wolf into a doe-eyed puppy dog.
At this stage, we just don’t know. “
“If I do get bitten, I could always incarcerate myself.”“You could do that,” Roux said.
“But why should we trust you?”
“Lady, I have no intention of roaming the halls of this place with my zombie brothers, brain-dead.
I charge you with ending my existence, if this were the case."
Roux nodded.
“Alright, we could do that, yes. However, be very careful among them.
Zombies are slow and dimwitted, but they have a terrible reptilian bite.”
So do I, Armand thought, but said,
“I understand. And we don’t want us to display any kind of weakness.
Not against these monsters. Do we, Doctor?”
“No, we don’t. We are agreed then?”Again Armand shifted his weight.
“Not quite. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll require a guarantee.
It’s only fair, don’t you think?”
Roux looked puzzled.
“What kind of guarantee?”
“I’ve changed my mind about my one condition.
Instead, since it’s my life I’m putting on the line,
I require that you agree to give me back my freedom.”
“Freedom? Why would you want that?”
“Believe it or not I had a life once, a family and friends.
I was considered a writer with a promising career, or so the critics said.”
“That time has passed,” Roux said.
“You have a new life now. And we are your family and friends.”Armand folded his arms and remained silent.
Roux moved uncomfortably, said,
“Very well. Being head functionary,
I am authorized to grant your request.”
“I thought Dr. Rickles was head functionary.”
“Dr. Rickles suffered head trauma and is currently incapacitated. I’m in charge now.”
“I see. My freedom then. Do we have a deal?”
Roux answered quickly.
“We have a deal.
Only, have you considered that outside these walls you will no longer be inconspicuous, once you turn?
And on the outside, though we can monitor your movements, Traxim can offer no protection.”
“I understand.”“And I must insist,” Roux said,
“that after you vacate the premises, you will hurt no one outside.
At least, no one human.”
“I’ll agree not to hurt anyone who doesn’t hurt me.
As for not being inconspicuous, luckily for me it’s carnival week.
At night everyone in town is wearing a mask or a costume—mummies, ghouls, vampires--so I’m sure most people won’t even give me a second look.
At least, I hope they don’t.”Roux stood, and Armand stood with her. She said,
“Very well. You can start now, as of this minute.
Once in the hall you can change to the werewolf and begin your search.
Remember your objective is to incarcerate as many of the specimens you can.
Those you cannot incarcerate you will destroy.
We will keep a close eye on you as you move through the facilities,
and we’ll warn you of any danger. “
Once they were in the hall, Roux said,
“Good luck, Armand.”
Armand smiled.
“Thanks, little red.
But I think I won’t need it.”
She saw him change again—the exact opposite of what she had witnessed earlier: from average, unassuming human to imposing, terrifying man-beast. He walked hunched, arms splayed at the side, claws sharp, pointing toward the back and upwards. His feet were bare, and he walked on the instep, the arched middle portion of the foot, not the heel.
Roux watched him walk and wondered if Armand, as the wolf, would attain his objective: effective damage control.
Two other pairs of eyes also watched, hidden behind a sharp corner on the far wall.
(Illustrations by: Wolf'IO MGP. Track 3 in spoiler)
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Post by edwardjohn on Sept 3, 2022 21:40:28 GMT
Chapter 3
By: Tanith
 The Morning After
Sunrise, bloodily radiant through the smoke.
Toward the end of the corridor, Roux saw Armand fade into the shadows as the last of the uninvited visitors piled into their vans and pulled away from the facility. In the distance she could hear the roar of heavy engines as Traxin’s private fire department mobilized to extinguish what was left of Storage Unit B. Her own rage eclipsed the fire in the building, and even Armand was careful to avoid her. In the last hour, what was already a crisis had escalated into a disaster.
She couldn’t fathom what had gone wrong. Armand had begun his purge of the facility with brutal efficiency, for few of the specimens submitted to his attempts to capture them. Interestingly, those who did all shared one common characteristic…they’d been successful in their prior lives. Businesspeople, teachers, even a somewhat famous musician…they all came tamely back to their cells as Armand coaxed them out of hiding. But the paroled criminals, the homeless, the dispossessed…they would not be captured willingly, and so now their brains decorated the walls of the facility.
However, little of this gory carnage was Armand’s work.
He’d been studying the musician’s test results when the thunder of engines and the rattle of gunfire pierced the howls of the security alarms. Special forces had been dispatched to “clean up” the mess, which they did with extreme prejudice. And flamethrowers. These soldiers knew their violent business well and made short work of many of the specimens still on the rampage. They also rounded up most of the scientists who were still on the premises, herding them into one of the waiting vans. Roux was saved from joining their number by Armand, who pulled her into a maintenance closet and urged her to remain silent as the soldiers marched through the facility, scooping up computer hard drives and shellshocked techs. Others poured hundreds of bullets into the specimens who remained on the premises, whether they were attacking or not. And the rest, of course, made heavy use of their flamethrowers in what was clearly an attempt to erase this incident.
Apart from their battle dress, however, they’d been wearing no protective gear. And a lot of bodily fluids had been splattered about during their purge.
How many of those soldiers were riding back to their base infected, Roux wondered. Fury and dismay warred within her. Any chance of containing this had gone out the window as soon as the shooting had started. Watching as the fire containment team calmly brought the flames under control, Roux found the resolve to stand straight and walk back down to her office. These men and women trusted her to put things right. Therefore, she would do all she could to correct this situation. She would begin by finding out just who the hell—
Roux stifled a yell of surprise as Armand materialized from the shadows of the vending area outside her office. This part of the facility was on emergency power, and the darkness served the werewolf well. He’d wisely remained in human form and out of sight during the purge. His expression now was carefully neutral.
“Well, Doctor, that escalated quickly.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“I’m not laughing, ma’am. There’s one hell of a mess in the staff lounge…that’s where a lot of the specimens were when the cavalry turned up. But I think some of them got off the grounds during that, and I know some of those cowboys got infected blood splashed on them. I’m afraid we’re about to learn exactly how your viral agent works.”
“Where did those goons even come from?”
Roux’s agitation was apparent in her pacing.
“They didn’t work for Traxin.”
Armand looked at her steadily.
“I think they work for Uncle Sam.”
Roux stopped her pacing and stared at him.
“Military?”
“Nah, if they were military they’d still be here and you and I would be gone.
They’re probably Strike Team Theta, they get sent out all the time to handle things like this.”
“I never heard of them…and how do you know that?”
Roux frowned at her unlikely ally.
“You won’t have heard of them, but saying ‘I’m a writer’ gives you access to all sorts of information.” Armand shifted his teeth back into those of a wolf, and the resulting smile made Roux take a step back. “What matters is, they’ve just made this situation even worse. We’re going to need help…supernatural help.”
“Supernatural?”
“Your virus has its origins in the realm of sorcery, Doctor.
We are going to need those versed in the field to stop it.”
Roux shook her head.
“Even if I believed you, where would we find such people?”
“You have four of them on the premises at this very moment, possibly observing us.”
Armand paused, but the shadows gave no sign.
He shrugged, then continued.
“They’ve been here since ‘the incident’, as you call it, happened.”
“We don’t employ any ‘sorcerers’ here!”
Exasperation and fatigue were shredding the last of Roux’s nerves.
Was this man insane as well as lycanthropic?
“I didn’t say you employed them,”
Armand rumbled.
Both his eyes and his voice had also reverted to the wolf state,
and he began to radiate a dangerous, purposeful animus.
“I very much doubt anyone could employ them. But they are here, trust me. I can feel them. Let’s stop wasting time and find them, because they can help us find a way to defeat this infection…and they may be able to uncover the traitor in your midst, Little Red.”
She ignored the use of the irritating nickname this time.
“Traitor in our midst?”
“Yes, Doctor. Strike Team Theta doesn’t go strolling around looking for zombie plagues to erupt so they can put them down. Someone on your staff contacted them after things went critical, or else they’ve been working with them all along. Either way the fix is meant to be the termination of everyone involved in Traxin…and I won’t stand for that. I won’t be denied my revenge.”
Armand’s lips curled back from his terrible smile once more, and Roux could see hair ripping across his massive hands. Could he maintain control of his beast nature? She hoped to hell he could. She didn’t need a rampaging werewolf on top of zombies, “sorcerers”, and shadowy government strike teams.
Next thing it’ll be a were-pig, she thought dourly.
Armand flexed his lengthening claws.
“I can feel magical energy building in the surgical theater. Let’s move.”
They set off, Roux trotting to keep up with Armand’s long, rapid strides. Neither of them noticed the shape that followed at a prudent distance.
(Illustration 1 by: Wolf'IO MGP. Illustration 2: Stock Image. Track 4 in spoiler)
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Post by edwardjohn on Sept 11, 2022 16:39:44 GMT
Chapter 4
By: edwardjohn
Private Jack Adams wasn’t feeling too good. He was seated in the back compartment of Strike Team Theta’s personal, imposing Tatra truck, which was bounding towards a destination he was oblivious to, doing his best not to puke his guts up. He, stupidly, turned his gaze to his uniform, the excrement of the monsters him and his brothers in arms had dealt with was all over him.
Oh, crap, I’m gonna puke …
It was thoughts like these that occupied his mind, but he wouldn’t puke; no, he was a soldier of the United States Army, he’d not disappoint Uncle Sam by throwing up on the floor of their transport like a goddamn sissy!
These feelings were new to him. He had been in numerous hells across the world, from Afghanistan to Iraq, Somalia to the Congo, and had done things with no issue in these places that ordinary soldiers would likely throw up themselves upon learning of them.
But that was the job, he knew what he was signing up for when the suits from the CIA, NSA and any other number of organisations came to him and offered him a chance to really serve his country.
He had been hesitant at first when Uncle Sam offered him the chance to work so far off the record that he might as well have been in Madagascar, but when his CO, the man seated across from him, and his brothers from the corps, agreed, then there was no question about it; his CO was Captain Frazer Mackenzie, a man he had promised to follow to hell and back, and had done so multiple times.
Find something to take your mind of you throwing up! Jack told himself. He turned his attention to his surroundings: a truck full of soldiers from his unit and scientists he didn’t know, all covered in the crap that those goddamn zombies spewed. Nope, that wasn’t going to take his mind off things. His thoughts then went to his girlfriend, Leana, who was back in Miami, waiting for him to come home. He also thought of his local bar, Javi’s Place; he’d do anything to get back there …
But such thoughts soon disappeared; he was hungry, suddenly very hungry. Which was weird considering what he had just done and him almost puking a matter of moments ago …
Captain Mackenzie stared out the back window of the tantra; Traxim’s research facility, the place he him and his men had been charged with protecting, disappearing into the distance. He wondered, from the surrounding country, where the hell he was?
They hadn’t been privy to that information in the debriefing prior to him and his men taking up this post. ‘That information isn’t critical to your mission, Captain,’ one of the Federal suits had told him before him and his men had been sent on a chopper to God knows where.
Mackenzie was using his game of guessing where he was to take his mind from what he and his men had just witnessed and done. He was a big boy and didn’t usually let things get to him, but this was different, so very different. That wasn’t a rogue faction of the Taliban him and his team had taken out; no, those were zombies, goddamn zombies manufactured by Uncle Sam.
Mackenzie’s attention was soon diverted by Adams, one of the boys from his unit, taking his protective mask off. Adams let out a sigh of relief before saying, ‘so goddamn stuffy …’
Everyone in the Tatra turned to him, wondering why the hell he was taking his mask off. ‘Jack,’ Captain Mackenzie said to him with a weird accent, which was due to him having a mother from Ireland, a dad from Scotland, and growing up in Ohio, ‘put your mask back on …’
‘Sorry, sir … its just … so goddamn stuffy …’
‘Put the mask back on, Jack,’ said the soldier to the left of Mackenzie, another Theta member: Sergeant Markus Williams.
A scientist to the left of Adams also removed his mask.
Mackenzie turned to him with a stern stare. ‘Doctor, what are you doing?’
‘These protective masks aren’t going to do crap,’ the doctor plainly responded, ‘we’re covered in their crap … if we’re infected, we’re infected …’
‘So goddamn hungry …’ Adams muttered.
Everything in the Tatra went silent then, realising what Adams’ words meant. ‘Sir,’ said a voice from Mackenzie’s radio suddenly, this was the Tatra’s driver, ‘we’re about a mile out from our extraction.’
‘Copy,’ replied Mackenzie to his radio before returning his attention to Adams. ‘Son, are you alright …?’ Damn it, Mackenzie thought … I promised Leana … promised her I’d get him home to her … Maybe it wasn’t so bad, maybe the guys at quarantine had something for him …
‘Not doing too great, sir … I’m …’ He suddenly threw up, everyone in the Tatra jumped when he did. ‘Sorry, sir …’ Adams then said when he was done puking with a voice that was more animal than man.
‘That’s alright, son … Everything’s going to be okay …’ Mackenzie said as his covertly took pistol from his holster. ‘Everything’s going to be fine …’
‘Which way?’ Roux asked.
Armand stuck his snout into the air. ‘That way,’ he said a moment later, flailing a claw at an imposing blast door with a keypad.
‘Really? That leads outside.’‘Then that’s where we’re heading.’
Roux led the way, knowing the password that would get them outside. Soon they found themselves in the lush fields that bordered the facility, making sure to lock the door after themselves, of course. ‘Heaven,’ said Armand with his animalistic voice, ‘this is heaven … sprawling fields … perfect for a gallop …’ His legs suddenly went hinged, as if he was about to go bounding into the distance, forgetting everything that had happened prior to his arriving outside, his animalistic personality taking over.
‘Hey,’ Roux said with an imposing voice that surprised even her, ‘you’re not going anywhere! We’ve still got a goddamn world to save, you big … bad … wolf …!’Armand returned to normal (well, relatively for him). ‘… Big, bad wolf?’
‘Well,’ she proceeded to mutter, ‘you did say that I was Little Red Riding Hood …’
Armand laughed, it was a chuckle at first, but soon he was cackling. With everything that had been going on, it was so good to laugh. Even Roux found herself laughing, almost hysterically, greatly surprising herself. ‘Big, bad wolf! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!’ Armand suddenly exclaimed.
‘Well, well, well … what do we have here?’ Magda Cruxtabel said, levitating a little above Armand and Roux on her broomstick, joined by several others on the things that Roux would have sworn were mops, dressed like they were a part of a roaming, New Orleans carnival. She then gestured to Armand before turning to Cyrus Lavenkrept and saying, ‘this is what happens when the normies don’t have us to lead them!’
‘Truly an abominable creature … I think I’ve seen it in my visions … Ghastly …’
‘Hey!’ Armand roared at Cyrus. ‘I’m right here, creep! Why don’t you jump off that damn broomstick and I’ll show you who your boss is, you discount Harry Potter!’
Cyrus was a moment away from throwing himself at the creature when Queen spoke up. ‘Stay where you are, Cyrus!’
‘This must be Hermione,’ muttered Armand before Roux shut him up.
‘You,’ Queen said, turning her attention to Roux, ‘you caused this?’
‘Uhm … no … I … uhm … I just work here …’‘Excellent!’ Queen exclaimed.
‘Uhm,’ said Rawrags, now pulling up to the left of Queen on his broomstick. ‘Queenie … what’s so … excellent?’
‘Don’t you get it? Don’t any of you get it?’ Queen said. ‘Science and magic made this … this … horror … isn’t it quite poetic that its going to be science and magic, in unison, that’s going to defeat it?’
‘What do you have in mind?’ Cyrus asked Queen.
‘Well, Mrs …?’ She said to Roux.‘Roux,’ the doctor replied.
‘Well, Mrs Roux, you …’
‘Wait, I know!’ Cyrus exclaimed, suddenly realising what Queenie had planned.
‘Yes!’ Queenie exclaimed, turning to Cyrus with a gleeful smile before returning her attention to Roux. ‘Mrs Roux, tell me … being that this is a biological facility in all, I’m sure that you’ve got some way to distribute these abominations that the minds of science have concocted?’‘Yes, there’s a dispensary unit … But why would …? Wait …’ She said with a sudden smile and laugh.
‘I don’t get it,’ muttered Armand.
‘Armand,’ said Roux, ‘don’t you get it!? Traxim created mechanisms to distribute these toxins to Uncle Sam’s enemies, but they’re still here! They haven’t been field tested yet, they’re still somewhere in the facility … they’ve got … oh, I don’t know … a dozen or more miles dispersal radius!’
‘And if they can disperse toxins,’ said Queen, ‘then they can also disperse … a cure …’
‘Precisely!’ Roux said.
‘Like I said,’ Queen declared, ‘magic and science in unison! Come on, let’s go before those trucks get too far!’
 (Illustrations by: Wolf'IO MGP. Track 5 in spoiler)
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Post by edwardjohn on Sept 15, 2022 21:12:47 GMT
Chapter 5
by: diobolic
"We do have one problem, though", Roux said emphatically to the Queen.
“Our cure is only 50 percent effective at this point. Dispersing it isn’t the problem, it’s the antidote. And half of something in this case is pretty much nothing.”
“Precisely” the Queen retorted.
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Mrs Roux, than are dreamt of in your world of science. You and your too-educated-for-your-own-good miscreants stumbled upon magic in creating these abominations, and now it’s up to us that live in the shadows and watch, to provide you the magic of the other 50 percent effectiveness for your concoction!”
The Queen handed Roux a vile containing an iridescent, blue liquid held within. “Go back inside and fulfill your duty before anything else is done. The vile contains all that you need to complete the antidote. And hurry; there is little time to spare.”“We witches, as you call us, have another task right now to accomplish to right the wrong that you have unleashed upon your fellow man, but the rest is up to you to undo what has been done” the Queen said solemnly.
She then whispered something into Armand’s ear before the quartet of seers and sorcerers departed along with faithful Francois dutifully running at breakneck speed with trotters to the ground trying to keep up with his masters overhead.
“Okay, big guy, Little Miss Ridding Hood needs the Big Bad Wolf as her assistant. So let’s get at it, but don't you even think of me climbing into bed with you. And by the way, what did the Queen whisper to you?”
Armand responded that what was said was to watch out for the missus until her task is complete. He was not about to tell Roux what really was told him, in poetic form, to be careful of those who are predators intent on taking the most valuable things in life away from others, to “feed” their own selfish reasons and those of other wicked men. And that Roux was the only one left that had the complete formula for disaster in her head, and must not be allowed to survive.
Meanwhile back on the truck, Captain Mackenzie brought his pistol to bare and put a single bullet between Adam’s eyes, dropping him to the floor with a sickening thud. Everyone, except for the captain, in the back of the truck recoiled in shocked horror.
For about a minute before the first shot transpired, overhead they could hear the sound of propellers from a V-22 Osprey, capable of vertical take-off and landings in tight areas without relying on a runway. ‘Their extraction from pure hell,’ or so they thought before the situation drastically changed.
‘YUP... You better do us all’ said the maskless doctor,
who was covered in the remnants of Adams
and happened to be the government’s agent and eyes within Traxim.
“We’re dead already, but we just don’t know it yet.
And since I’m actually a Major, and the ranking officer on this wheeled life raft to nowhere,
I’m giving the order to save humanity, NO ONE is to get out of this truck alive.
NOBODY!”
It took a few moments for the mercenaries and scientists to consider friends and loved ones that would have no chance in a global outbreak of this magnitude and horror. A few soldiers also held onto self-preservation and realized their only chance was to shoot their way out of the ensuing melee. The scientists had no say.
Almost simultaneously pistols and automatic FN P90’s (the type designed for close quarter combat) began to ring out like deafening prolonged thunder as bullets flew indiscriminately. The coven above and nearby marvelled at the sacrifice, but knew the job would not get done entirely. The crew of the aircraft was bound to find some left alive and injured and transport them to safety, unknowingly spreading the mysterious terror taking hold.
The quartet of witches went into action. With their magic they caused the engines of the Osprey to fail and guided its flight path onto the truck as the pandemonium enfolded. Filled with fuel the resulting explosion and fireball was immense, and could be seen and heard for miles. Nobody and nothing alive, or once alive, could survive the inferno... just as the witches planned. And as extra insurance Francois kept his distance just in case there was an escaped survivor of this valiant last stand.
Roux and Armand heard the explosion and saw the fireball off in a distance.
The immediate threat of the apocalypse traveling a long distance in short order was eliminated. But the duo knew they still had to deal with the deadly spread locally from the firemen, police, and any random scientist or infected who might have found a way out of the Traxim compound. And they needed to work feverishly to get the cure mixed with the added witch’s ingredient, and utilize a method of dispersing it over a rather large area.
But the cure wasn't really a cure in the traditional sense of the word. It was simply a cure against spread. Anyone infected would immediately drop dead, and the dead's brains would liquefy, ending their so-called existence. They would figure out a mop-up plan later. Time was their present adversary.
Back in the laboratory, dedicated to the Resurgence Force, Roux broke out the “cure” Traxim’s team had been working on. There was an amble supply but she mused about how much of the Queen's elixir to combine with what they developed. Armand responded she should play it by ear as they could only fly by the seat of their pants at this point, so to speak.
When the entire vile was supplemented to the cure, it suddenly turned to a bright chartreuse green in appearance. “By jove, I think you’ve got it” Armand mouthed with a chuckle.
"Step one complete, but now for the disbursement issue" and Roux reflected
“We all felt the best method for mass distribution over large areas was to utilize C-10 cargo planes,
but that won’t fly here."
“Let’s gather up the cure and head out and pray for more divine, or in this case sublime, intervention”
was Armand’s suggestion.
As they exited the building with their bounty, the four witches appeared.
"I figured you’d need our help for one last task," noted the Queen. “Give us each equal amounts of your cure and we’ll do the dirty deed for you. Magic can be a wonderful thing when used correctly. You humans will never understand that.”
She then said to Armand
“your task is almost complete, don’t fail us now."
As the witches flew off to rectify what smart men shouldn’t dabble with, Roux sighed a sign of relief and hugged Armand. Armand hugged her back... hugging the life right out of her.
He knew HE had one more task that needed completion. The Traxim facility had to be destroyed so no one can could go through any documents or machinery and take up where the now vacant destitute facility left off. He strolled back in, feeling abandoned and alone, thinking heavily that this world truly has no place for the likes of him. He turned on the natural gas and filled every building, and then returned to the laboratory.
He fell to his knees, breaking out in the first tears he’s experienced since he got mixed up with Traxim, and 'flicked his Bic.'
FIN
(Illustrations by: Wolf'IO MGP. Track 6 in spoiler)
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Post by edwardjohn on Sept 16, 2022 16:46:17 GMT
Epilogue
by docpain2
The sign at the gate read: ‘Traxim Research Inc; Making A Better world.’ People on the outside scoffed at the sarcasm; it was also a running joke inside the facility.
As the fist fire truck pulled up to the gate, a lone security guard stood by. The captain on the engine went to him, and demanded the gate be opened. The guard responded that: “this was a scheduled test onsite, and they can head out since it’s a false alarm.”
Then two more trucks and a police car showed up. The security guard asked all the responders to gather around to get ‘the full details of the test,’ and when they were all well within his range, the guard revealed his true self. This was Cyrus Lavenkrept basically playing a sorcerer’s version of dress-up.
Slowly he started his incantation, they fell asleep on their feet immediately. After several minutes he once again returned to the visage of a security guard, with that, he woke everyone up. The fire Chief said “well thanks, I think we have everything we need. Keep up the good work up there.” And with that all the responders departed.
Magda Cruxtabel appeared almost out of thin air, well, out of thin air. “Ha! I still love to see you pull one over on the normies Cyrus’” she said. Cyrus was still partially recovering from what was the first time in a few decades that he has done this little shape shifting trick, he replied “yes, they a pretty gullible and always go for the simplest answers.” She laughed and went on, “the Queen wants us back fast, there’s a problem with the soldiers, one of them got away and is heading to the river.”
“Ok, but I need to walk this off a bit, it takes a lot out of me,” he said. As they walked up the hill Magda told Cyrus what had transpired while he was protecting the gate. One soldier somehow escaped the carnage of the armored carrier. He was in the driving compartment and managed to stay clear of both the gunfire and the Osprey.
After a short while, Cyrus was back to his old 180-year-old self and he and Magda rejoined the Queen and Brother Rawrags. “Ah, you finally decided to join the party” Rawrags said, “Yes, sorry, I’m not used to dealing with normies, or shapeshifting much these days” Cyrus said. “Where’s Francois?" Magda asked.
“He’s on the hunt, as we will be in a minute,” Queenie responded. They headed east on the sprawling complex, using her built in GPS to track Francois progress. “He has a scent” she told the small group.
Back in the rubble formerly known as Traxim Research Inc., we see two figures arise from the rubble, one of them, chief engineer David Drayton, the other his assistant and occasional bowling partner Mary Jackson. “Holy shiet, they really blew it up” Drayton said. Mary responded “What was Roux doing with Armand? Did they cause this?” she asked. “We all did” he replied, those dosages have been unstable for months.” “I heard the chemists complaining about overdosing the tests subjects just to end this.” “Maybe they did, but it didn’t kill them.”
Now a bit away from the fallen building they walked towards the barracks that housed the key Traxim players. David called out, but for the exception of a random bird here and there and a few small explosions in the distance, there was no response.
Finally, they reached his apartment, “I wanna grab my notes on this place and we can walk out. Do you need anything from your apartment Mary?” “My hiking shoes and some Gatorade” she replied with a smile.
“David, I know we were contracted by the government to do this research, but do you think we’re in any trouble?"
“Of course,” he replied, "Traxim was wiped out only partially by our human lab rats. The rest were part of some special ops team of some kind. I’d be shocked if they are even still alive. Our government sometimes likes to clean its cleaners."
Mary sat and pondered the magnitude of what David just said. David was looking out the window and saw two figures in the distance. He told Mary, “let’s head out, we may have other survivors”.
As they walked across the field the two figures now saw them, “shiet Magda, what do we do now?” Cyrus asked. “What can we do? We talk to them, dearie.” As they approached David noted that these two were dressed unlike anyone he’d seen outside of late-night TV.
“Don’t be afraid, David and Mary. We know you both better than you know yourselves,” Magda said. Mary suddenly felt an uneasy cramping feeling and as the got closer, she couldn’t help but stop to vomit. With that, both Magda and Cyrus broke out laughing.
“I’m David Drayton and this is,” “Mary Jackson,” Cyrus interrupted. “Yes, as I said, we are already well met.” “I’m Cyrus, and this is Magda,” “There are three more of us, but they are on a hunt.”
The escaped soldier had indeed headed east, when Francois was intercepted by The Bloodworthy Queen and Brother Rawrags he was almost insane with bloodlust. “Calm down Francois, you’re not gonna want any of this meat” Queen said. As they followed the trail it became more obvious that the soldier was either an Olympic runner or had superpowers. It seemed as they moved further along the scent was getting farther away.
“Alright, we stop here and let Cyrus and Magda catch up” Queen said. “They’re not alone, I can feel two more with them. One's a normie, the other…I’m not sure, said Rawrags. “Damn it!” Queenie exploded, “I told Armand that she was not to be allowed to live.”
Once together Queenie immediately recognized David and Mary. “Ok, I thought you two were that bitch from Traxim and her dog boy,” she said! “How is it you both survived?” asked Brother Rawrags. David, still not completely sure if he did survive responded, “We were in the vault when the lights went out and everything went to hell. I guess the door protected us from the brunt of the blast,” he said. But did it he thought? He seemed to remember a weird light around him and Mary right before the blast. This he would keep to himself.
The Queen spoke up again, “David, Mary, we are happy to have you”. She continued “Mary, do you remember me”? Mary looked a bit startled by the question but thought on it. She replied, “I’m sorry, no. But you do look familiar ... you obviously know me.” The Queen laughed and began to change, “oh dearie, you’ve known me your whole life.” As the Queens form changed from one to the other Mary gasped.
“Ok, you get an A+ in stalking, but why,” she asked. “You’re one of us dearie, you just don’t know it. Your mother stepped off the path decades ago, but there’s still time for you, Queen said.” She continued, “And David, we’ve been watching you since you came here, your not like the rest of the ‘normies’ as we call them”.
Brother Rawrags spoke up, “For now we have bigger (much bigger) fish to fry, we have and infected human out there. Possibly about to destroy the world.
François picked up the trail and Magda took to the sky, hoping to see something, but the triple canopied forest down below wasn’t very helpful.
Out of desperation the Queen recalled the group. “We need to set the cure free, hopefully it will kill anyone and anything infected,” she said. She continued “Mary this won’t have any effect on you, But David, even if you’re slightly infected, it will kill you”.
“Gee thanks for the heads up”, he said.
The Blood worthy Queen created a circle in the forest and set everyone around her. She dropped to her knees and slowly took the vials from her cohorts and began the incantation,
“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te…cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare…Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis…Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei; contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine…quem inferi tremunt…Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos”.
As she finished all the open vials burst up into the air creating the blackest cloud ever seen. After a few minutes the rain began, it tasted bitter in their mouths, but it was surely a cleansing rain. They all (including Mary) turned their eyes on David. He sat, not knowing what to expect. Eventually they all realized that he was not infected and would be ok.
As the rain stopped, they continued down the trail with Francois well in the lead. About half a mile down and only a few yards away from the electrified fence which signalled the end of the Traxim property was the hulking skeleton of what looked like a combination man and beast from hell. Magda stepped up, “I’ll destroy the bones, we can’t risk DNA testing or other normie hocus pocus”. With that, the bones went up in flames.
David, Mary, The Bloodworthy Queen, Cryrus, Magda, Brother Rawrags and Francois all sat in a circle. David started “well, what now?” Queenie responded: “You, David, can go on ... and you as well, Mary, if you wish”, We can give you new lives if that’s what you want, and it’s obviously safer for you both”. She continued, “Mary if you want to stay, we will teach you, and with that you can live for a very long time, but it’s your choice. Go with David and live a ‘normal’ life or stay. Either way, you both will remain under our protection”.
Mary looked at David and considered the possibilities. She replied,
“I think any life David and I make will be a lot less than normal, so I’ll stay with him."
"That’s your choice dearie”, Queenie replied.
“Now, you both close your eyes and when you wake up, you will be in a new world.”
(Illustration 1 by: Wolf'IO MGP. Illustration 2: Stock Image. Track 7 and Latin translation in spoiler)
Incantation/'Exorcism prayer' from the tv series "Supernatural" :
“We exorcise you, every unclean spirit, every satanic power, every infernal invasion of the adversary, every legion, every assembly and diabolical sect. Therefore, all the diabolical legion, we adjure you...cease to deceive human creatures, and to cast upon them the poison of eternal perdition...Go, Satan, inventor and master of all deception, enemy of human salvation...Be humbled under the mighty hand of God; tremble and flee, invoked by us in the holy and terrible name...which the hells tremble...from the snares of the devil, deliver us, O Lord. To make your Church safe for you to serve in freedom, we ask you, listen to us."
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Post by wolf on Sept 19, 2022 15:09:08 GMT
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