Into the Dark
It was black.
And silent.
Well, it wasnt entirely pitch-dark. A hundred yards down the sewer line a seventy-watt bulb burned, feebly trying to stave off the encroaching darkness. A lone bar of light penetrated to where an enormous creature lay motionless.
And it wasnt silent either. The white noise of thick water sloshing through its channels, streams merging and diverging, was only faintly to be heard and fading into the background, echoing down the pipe from a great distance.
Nearby, the quiet was broken by the sharp plop of a drip hitting standing water. Ripples spread across the surface of the still water in the channel, bending the light as it filtered through the stagnant filth.
A six-hundred-pound, eight-foot-tall insectoid hulk lay as if comatose along the narrow walkway in the pipe. Slowly his chest rose and fell as he heaved a sigh.
Huurrrr... Im a monster, he said despairingly.
He had been sitting there for a little over a day and a half. Of course, he had no way of knowing that. Hed left the sunlight and the surface world far behind the day before. He was in a pit so deep he couldnt imagine the rim, couldnt dream of climbing out. He couldnt even remember a time when he hadnt been in it. The last two days were all he could recall of his life or himself.
I dont even have any memory of what I looked like before... this, he moaned, his voice heavy with loathing.
Valiantly the single bulb flickered in the subterranean darkness. Occasionally a drop of water punctuated the long silences. Something that was once human lay, languishing in misery.
*****
Anything yet, officer? Dr. Mancini asked into the phone.
Look, its a huge sewer, the tired voice on the line hedged. We got teams on it, but theres a lot of different ways we gotta check. The earthquake in Overbrook messed a lot of it up. The whole things a tangled mass of wreckage-
So you dont, Mike concluded. Look, hes a friggin gorilla. He leaves footprints in cement. He has all the subtlety of a tyrannosaurus rex. He-" Mike sighed and went on, "Thanks anyway. Keep looking. He dropped the receiver back into the cradle without waiting for the exasperated officers anrgy response. He massaged his temples and said, This is a nightmare.
Nurse Ortiz squeezed his shoulder and said, You got to relax and stop getting so wound up. We dont even know hes contagious. Just calm down, doctor. We called all the hospitals, so if anything turns up well know right off, okay?
Mike sighed. I guess youre right. This whole thing... Too many unknowns. He turned to his desk and picked up his pen, intending to get back to work. Josefina took that for a dismissal and turned to go, but as she came to the door to his office, Mike said, without turning or looking up, Wonder who he was. He didnt have a wallet or anything. Poor *******.
Pulling a document from his inbox, he began scribbling away busily. Josefina shook her head and went off to do her rounds.
*****
The amnesiac had worked into a good meditative trance when his brooding was disturbed by sounds of a scuffle from up the drainpipe. Growling at the intrusion, he heaved himself to his feet and stalked angrily toward the disturbance.
Hold him down while I administer the sedative, an evil voice instructed.
The man being held down struggled and grunted, trying to free himself. Let me go you bastards! Youll get it if you screw with us, a frightened man shouted.
The evil voice cackled, sounding plainly unhinged. I really doubt it, but I hope they do. I need some more parts and you police boys are in such good shape... What was that?
Two reapers and a squad of cadavers had ambushed one of the police teams combing the sewers for the amnesiac. It had been a short fight; the cops hadnt been expecting to find anything down there and were caught completely off guard. The walking corpses were preparing the unconscious ones as the two reapers tried to subdue the one remaining man. However, strange sounds came from up the pipe. The mad doctors were staring in growing alarm, as the sounds most nearly approximated an armor-plated rhinoceros charging through a passageway too narrow for it.
The Vahzilok surgeons shared an increasingly alarmed glance and reached for their bone saws, but before they could pull them up, an enormous heavily-muscled figure crashed into them with a loud thud. They tried to roll clear, but only one managed; the other got locked in the monstrous bug-mans arms. The reaper struggled to get free until he was squeezed into unconsciousness. The other reaper threw his whole body into a hard chop with the bone saw, but just before the saw struck, fire leapt off the colossus, soaking the force. The blade hit and bounced off a chitin plate.
The amnesiac laughed eerily. Hurr hurr hurr... Stupid little meat-creature.
Shaking, the reaper held his saw out before him and backed away slowly, but he couldnt hold it still. Contemptuously the amnesiac swatted it away with his left and threw a hard right hook to the mad doctors jaw. With a crunch he was flung against the wall, instantly unconscious.
The cadavers turned as one to face the new threat. With a cough, they vomited gouts of burning acid at the monster. It struck his chest and stuck with a horrible wet sizzling noise. He roared in pain and charged the constructs, fists swinging. Sickening crunching noises and wet thuds came in quick succession as the zombies dropped one after another. Still they spit up more clinging acid, and as the amnesiacs rage grew, the fire wreathing him began to burst off him in waves, engulfing the near ones and scorching them fiercely.
In a few moments the zombies were laying motionless, save for some minor death throes. Gingerly the eight-foot-tall bug-man scraped the gooey acid off himself and tossed it into the stagnant water of the sewer. He walked over to the one conscious policeman and gently helped him up. Will you be okay? he asked, referring to the entire squad of cops.
Uh, yeah. We should be fine... Thanks, the officer said, a little sheepishly. Um, listen, we were down here to find you...
Hrrrraauuur. You want to thank me? Forget you saw me, the amnesiac said as he disappeared down the drain.
At least tell me what to call you! the officer yelled after the retreating form.
The hulk stopped, looked over his shoulder for a moment, seeming to consider. He called back, I am the Stalking Horror, and strode off.
Feel free to post comments. I always run out of room on the ID for my character's origins (and I mean, ALWAYS), but this is the first time I've got round to doing a proper origin. Hope you like it.
And, without further ado,
Rebirth and Chaos
Mike Mancini was falling asleep. He was sitting behind the front desk at Brickstown Medical at 2 p.m., when all the criminals and heroes were in bed. His cases were all handled and he was just settling in for a nap when an inconsiderate, ragged-looking man walked in through the doors and disrupted his plans.
Doesnt even look sick, Mike grumbled as the man approached the desk. Despite his irritation, Mikes clinical instincts set in and he dispassionately examined the man. Moving very stiffly, rumpled and dirty clothes, must have slept outside last night. Visibly unharmed and no signs of any pain, but he keeps rubbing his head like he hit it... Appears confused and disoriented, keeps looking around the lobby with no sign of recognition. Out loud, as the man drew up to the desk, he said, Welcome to Brickstown General Medical Facility. Can I help you?
I... I dunno... the man said slowly, still looking around confusedly. I... I woke up in the alley behind the hospital about... I guess half an hour ago, but I cant remember how I got there, or even here...
Sighing inwardly, Mike picked up a clipboard with a check-in form and offered it to the man. Have a seat and fill this out. Bring it back and well have a look at you.
The man took it, picked up the pen, and stared at it mutely. Slowly a look of horror spread across his face like ink through water. I... I dont... I dont know any of this!
Thats okay, sir. You dont have to fill out home address if you dont have one, or insurance information if youre uninsured-
No, you dont understand! the man exclaimed. ANY of it! Name, age, place or date of birth...! He began to back away from the desk. His breath sped up and he began to panic.
Mike groaned silently as he leapt up and hurried around the desk to put an arm around the mans shoulders. Relax, calm down. Amnesia isnt always permanent. You might get your memory back in a couple of hours. Its possible you just suffered some physical trauma. The man came down off his panic high, but remained tense and nervous. Come on upstairs. Well get you checked into a room and Ill run some bloodwork and exams to see whats going on inside you.
As he led the man into the hospital, Mike sighed to himself, So much for my nap.
*****
Ten hours later, Josefina Ortiz was running her regular rounds when she heard moaning coming from room 434, across the hall. She finished replacing her current patients IV drip and crossed to the charts by the door. Amnesiac? No visible injury or illness, eh? Oh, fun, she muttered a little crossly. Never mind my shift was supposed to be over three hours ago... Sighing, she stepped into the room to the mans bedside. He was moaning and tossing in his sleep as though he couldnt find a comfortable position. Reaching out gently, the nurse shook his shoulder.
His eyes screwed tight shut, then snapped open wide. He took a deep breath and started screaming in agony, thrashing and clawing at his paper gown.
Madre Maria, she swore under her breath. As she dived on top of the man and tried to restrain him from tearing at himself, she yelled, Room 434, and bring sedation!
Within moments two more nurses arrived. One held his left arm and legs while Nurse Ortiz wrenched his right arm out for the shot of sedative.
The nurse preparing the sedative tore off the mangled paper gown and gasped. Looking down, Nurse Ortiz gasped and shrieked, ¡Sangre de Cristo! ¿¡Que estas?!
The skin on the mans arm appeared tough and leathery, and in places was shiny, stiff and hard. A quick glance showed that the rest of his body was taking on a similar aspect.
The nurses glanced at each other, none understanding what was happening, but the mans unceasing howls of pain quickly brought their attention back to the matter at hand. The nurse with the needle found a soft spot near his elbow, jammed the needle through, and injected. Within a minute his thrashing slowed and stopped, and he lapsed into unconsciousness.
*****
So, one more time? Mike asked, rubbing his temples and trying to resist the urge to check on the man again.
I told you already, stupid er, Doctor, Josefina snapped. Eleven forty-seven. I check on him, hes just like you said in your report. I go across the hall to 435, while Im fixing the IV for old Mr. Johns I hear the guy start moaning. When I come in to check on him he wakes up screaming, so I call in the nurses and we sedate him. He was tearing at himself like he was covered in hot coals so I take off the gown to examine and he looked like this, she said, waving a hand at the man. Glancing down, added, Not exactly like this. Hes worse now.
It was true. He was. The tougher, shiny bits were rapidly becoming chitinous carapace. His eyes were, for lack of a better word, bugging out of his head and becoming black and faceted. A pair of antennae were growing out of his head so fast they almost seemed to get longer as you watched.
He was also becoming emaciated. The sudden transformation had taken its toll on his fat surplus. Whereas he had been a little rounded when he checked in, he was now gaunt and almost skeletal.
Dr. Mancini shook his head and said, Well, we changed his IV from sedatives to painkillers. Well see what he can tell us when he wakes up.
On cue, the man began to shift in his sleep. Slowly, groggily, he came to awareness. He blinked as he stared at the two standing concernedly over him and said, Wheres the cafeteria?
Mike replied, First floor, Ill send for some-
The man cut him off by leaping out of the bed and, with a strength belied by his wiry frame, shoving Mike aside in a mad rush to the door. Josefina helped Mike up and the two ran after him, but the guy moved like a man possessed, tearing through the building. Though they soon lost sight of him, the two knew where they would find him.
Once they stepped into the cafeteria, the amnesiac was easy to spot, and not just because of his insectoid features. He was standing at the food counter and gorging himself. Anything he could lay his hands on got shoved into his mouth, whether it was off the counter or someones tray. He picked up and drank a whole tureen of soup in one draught. He shoved hamburgers and pizza down his gullet like he was making up for years of starvation.
Mike sent for some orderlies, but before they arrived, the man stopped suddenly, sank to the floor, and fell instantly asleep. When the orderlies finally arrived, he helped them heft the man onto the gurney and led them back to his room. Mike wasnt the only one wearing a puzzled frown after the scene.
*****
A week passed. Every day, once a day, the amnesiac would wake up, trot to the cafeteria, gorge for about half an hour, and then collapse. As he slept, his body somehow converted the raw fuel into sheer bulk, because in the span of a week, the man gained two feet in height and about four hundred pounds of sheer muscle. He couldnt sleep on the hospital bed any more, but the floor seemed to suit him just fine. They had managed to coax him into going back to his room before losing consciousness, since he couldnt be moved by gurney anymore.
Through it all, everyone was extremely puzzled. The day after his admittance, the bloodwork had come back. All results were nominal except for a high saturation by some sort of unidentifiable micro-organism, so they had sent a sample over to the University research hospital for identification. They would have sent the amnesiac along with it, but he was too large to move easily and no one knew how delicate his health might be.
Finally, the results came back, and Mike was sitting in room 434 staring blankly at the report when the man awoke.
Oh, hrrr, holy hell, he groaned. Where am I?
Brickstown Hospital, Mike said distractedly. Youve been here a week. No one knows what to make of your case. Do you feel like eating?
Uhhrrrk... Not really. Why?
Mike looked up from the report and frowned. Because every time youve woken up before, you made a beeline for the cafeteria and gorged for half an hour straight without pause.
The mans face was an inscrutable collection of chitin plates, but the way he cocked his head to the side clearly betokened confusion. I dont remember anything like that.
Mike nodded. I was afraid of that. It could be anterograde amnesia, or you might not really have been awake. Personally I think the latter is more likely. Anyway, thatd be more consistent with these results, he said, indicating the report he was holding.
What... whoa, Im hallucinating, the amnesiac said, looking around the room with his fly-like eyes. I can see behind me a little, and everythings overlapping... hurrrr... He held his hand up in front of his eyes and started, looking at the chitinous texture. What results?
We-ell, Mike said slowly, We ran some bloodwork when you first showed up, just as a standard thing, and found an unknown microbe in your body. It went to the university for further examination and they just now got back to us on it.
Dr. Mancini pulled himself heavily to his feet and walked over to where the amnesiac sat against the wall, examining his buglike hand. Mike put a hand on the mans shoulder and said, What they found was a retroviral agent advanced beyond anything weve ever even theorized. It seems to contain DNA sequences from many different types of terrestrial insects.
The man stared blankly at Mike for a moment before stuttering out, A, a, a virus? You mean I have some sort of... Am I gonna...?
Mike got up and walked to the medicine chest. He opened it and took out a hand mirror. Good news is, it doesnt seem lethal. In fact, by all indications youre one of the best physical specimens to come through here in many years, and we get a lot of heroes here.
Walking back over to the man, he went on, The bad news is, Im afraid youre not hallucinating. You see, a retroviral agent is a biological device used to restructure an organisms DNA. Ive never heard of one that would work on such a large scale, but like I said, this goes beyond anything even the most eminent of scientists has even dreamed of. Essentially, it has hijacked your body and transformed you into... something else.
The amnesiac took the mirror from Mike with shaking hands and stared into it. No horror registered on his static expression, but he started to shake and a faint, almost growling noise started in the back of his throat. Hurrr... huurrrrrrr... Hrrrrgg....
Slowly, without showing any sign of resistance, his hand closed around the mirror. Mike winced and took a step back at the sound of shattering glass. When the man opened his hand, the fragmented remains fell from his unscratched palm to the ground, the tinkling as they hit the ground faintly audible over the mans low growl.
Suddenly it shifted pitch to a throbbing, bass roar and he launched himself at the wall behind him. Mike cried out and reached to stop him, but he could as easily have stopped a freight truck on the highway. With the sound of more shattering glass, crumbling plaster, and tearing wood, the wall and window gave way before the massive being and the man found himself in open air, four stories up.
He fell. Of course he fell. When a six-hundred-pound monstrosity suddenly appears unsupported forty feet in the air, it has to fall, and hard. He hit the pavement feet first, but instead of him crumpling into the sidewalk, the concrete gave way under him as under a meteor, cratering inward. The force of his landing threw the few people in front of the hospital to the ground, and no sooner had he hit than he was up and running. For about three blocks, he tore along with no goal other than to flee the horrible thing he had seen in the mirror, but before very long he realized that would not be possible.
In desperation, he leapt in front of a truck barreling down the street at thirty-five miles an hour. The driver was too shocked to try and swerve. He slammed on the horn and the brakes simultaneously, but there was no way the truck could stop in time.
A moment before the truck impacted, the amnesiacs antennae quivered. He could feel the truck approaching, even aside from his sight or the wind of its advance swirling around him. Instinctively, without conscious effort, he reacted. A wall of living flame leapt off his flesh and knit itself around his body.
The truck, of course, still hit him at damn near thirty-five. With a loud crunch, and the roaring and crackling of fire, he absorbed the full impact of a six-ton truck and flew half a block before hitting pavement. He skidded another thirty feet before slamming into (and wrapping around) a lamp post. Shaking his head, he got to his feet, sore and disoriented. The crowd on the street stared in shock, and he stared blankly back for a moment before they started screaming in panic.
Quickly the amnesiac took stock of his situation. The hole in the side of the hospital, the mangled truck, and now the dangerously teetering lamp post all registered on his fly-like vision as droves of terrified pedestrians melted away like snow in a frying pan. Suddenly salvation appeared through a gap in the disappearing crowd.
A sewer drain.
In one tremendous leap he crossed the thirty yards to the culvert, ripped the brand-new steel grating clear out of it, and disappeared into the sewer.