|
Post by Διμι on Jun 24, 2011 0:52:20 GMT -5
Peregrine's heart froze, as a familiar feeling set in. He could hear Karc mutter something, standing next to him, but the words seemed to drown in an ominous buzzing as the area around them plunged into shadow. The darkness engulfing the path ahead seemed to coagulate and take form in a faintly brown figure, cloaked in a trench coat, facing away from him. The creature lifted its hands to his head, as if intending to uncover its face from underneath the shadowy hood hiding it. With a fluid movement, the hood came off. Through the gloom the stalker could see the back of a man's head, topped with a short, dirty blonde cut almost like Peregrine's own.
The buzzing was interrupted by an eruption of gunfire from behind him. The figure exploded into dark smoke just as it turned to face the stalker, and the shadows seemed to lift away. Turning, Peregrine beheld Karc wiping a weighty-looking falchion on a hideous creature. In his peripheral vision, the young stalker could see several others scurry off into the woods, evidently fazed by the group's retaliation.
The small squad seemed to be intact, if shaken. Peregrine pulled out his PDA for a quick check on their position. To his dismay, there was still quite a way's to go to the approximate location of Midas' hideout. Then of course, there would be the question of finding it. Peregrine's suspicions would only be assuaged the mercenary's stronghold would prove to be a clandestine and hard to find, as it was rumored to be hard to penetrate.
"Looks like we're all in one piece." he said, looking around once more. He kicked the beast on the ground. "Can't wait to see what this place has in store as we go deeper in."
"Well well..."
Midas spoke quietly. A growing headache had slowly settled in over the past hour, making it slightly difficult to think. The mercenaries showed no sign of distress or discomfort, but he suspected they were experiencing the same symptoms. The denser and denser clusters of small trees in the team's path had finally coalesced into a solid wall of vegetation. Looking to his side, the mercenary could see the barrier curve slightly.
A circular wall, he thought, enclosing something, hiding it. They had arrived at their destination.
"Make us an entrance." he instructed Jurgen. The team captain complied silently, motioning the rest of the team to stand aside. The mercenary loaded a grenade into the underbarrel launcher attached to his heavy machine gun, and fired directly into the wall. Wood splinters, muddy, melted snow, and dust filled the air as the projectile exploded on contact. Finally, the debris settled, revealing a massive hole in the solid ring of trees.
Midas signaled Jurgen to enter. The mercenary slowly stepped through the gaping opening, holding his heavy weapon at the ready and looking around warily before throwing up a "clear". The rest of the team entered without a word, spreading out inside the clearing. Midas turned to face the bandit standing beside him, but Dober was quiet as the grave, and followed suit as the rest of the mercenaries made their way in.
Through the slightly hazy glare of his night vision, Midas could see that the clearing was indeed circular, separated from the outside world by the same rock-solid ring of trees Jurgen had blown a hole in. No branches obscured the sky overhead, yet the area was still pitch black, the sky hidden by a massive dark cloud. The only light that seemed to enter the area was a small spherical overgrowth of vines in the center, bright white rays shining through gaps in the weave.
Midas approached the mysterious glow slowly, the entire world seemed to have taken a slightly dreamlike quality, his vision flickering slightly. Grunting, the mercenary shook it off before turning to face the rest of his team.
"This, gentlemen, is what we're here for."
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Jul 8, 2011 18:45:49 GMT -5
The Freedomers continued to make their way deeper into the unexplored regent of the red forest, for what seemed like hours. Ferret’s headache had gotten any better, and the loss of his night vision equipment made the trek even more difficult for him. However he managed to stay with the others, using the sound of their footsteps on the snow and dead undergrowth. The team kept moving, nothing was going to keep them from getting to that artifact.
More time passed, and the tall stalker began to notice that not only was the migraine in his skull subsiding but the area seemed to be getting lighter as well. The source of the light was not coming from above but was radiating from in front of them.
“We must be getting close to the artifact,” said Ferret, “I can see some kind of light up ahead.”
They moved closer and the light continued to get brighter and the temperature also began to rise. Soon the woods no longer felt like a chilly winter day but like a pleasant spring afternoon. The snow had melted in this area, and had created small streams of water. The streams flow towards the source of the light, making a road of sorts that Ferret hoped would lead them straight to the artifact.
After going a little farther, they came to it. The tree branches of the surrounding trees looked like they had been waved to gather to form a dome over a small clearing. The water from the streams had flowed together to make a pond of crystal clear water in the middle of the clearing. Above the pond was the artifact. It was in the shape of an orb and give of a pale green light that seemed to pulsate like a heartbeat.
“No radiation,” said Ferret has scanned the area with his geiger counter, before throwing a bolt out in front of him, “It seems safe, so who is going to get the thing?”
The Freedomers like the mercenaries that had come before them had no idea what they had just walked into, the anomaly welcomed the new minds that found away into it's web.
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Jul 24, 2011 5:42:05 GMT -5
"No radiation", said Ferret. Adder reached for her own dosimeter and saw that Ferret was right. The numbers on its old LCD screen remained at their lowest, which was altogether surprising considering how the Red Forest was a hotbed for radioactive areas.
"-Strange", said Adder, feeling uneasy despite the apparent calm of the area. "But good for us. It'll make our job easier."
She took a step forward and stopped. Something wasn't right. The whole scene seemed somewhat unreal, but Adder couldn't tell why.
"-Okay boss", said Wasp. Always the impulsive one, she grabbed her detector and went right towards the anomaly and its protective bundle of branches. Adder's eyes widened and her hand snapped up.
"-Wasp! NO!", she shouted, but it was too late. The whole area suddenly rippled as if some unseen hand had tossed a stone into a bucket of mud, and a violent flash blinded Adder. ______________________
When she finally woke up, Adder found it hard to open her eyes. Something in her did not want to see where she was. With what seemed like a colossal effort, the Commandant finally managed to open her eyes.
The clearing with its wall of snow and ice and its glowing artefact had vanished, replaced by a world which seemed very familiar to her. She looked around and saw that she was lying on a snowy hill overlooking a small village, and again, the scene struck her as being very familiar, but her confused mind couldn't really tell why it seemed so. She stood up gingerly, and after making sure that she was alone, she set off down the hill and headed towards the village.
As she walked, something else caught her attention. Everything seemed unreal. The small houses of the village seemed to flicker and tremble whenever she turned her head or blinked, and she felt oddly weightless. As she got to the village's entrance, she suddenly seemed to lose control of her feet as they seemed to gain a will of their own and took her deeper into the village.
Finally, she came to a house. It was small and rickety and had an equally small and snowed up garden out front. A Lada Niva caked with old filth and covered in snow was parked outside, and the car, the house, the garden and the street seemed even more familiar to Adder than the village had been. She stepped up to the door and pushed it open.
Her mind, which seemed to have lapsed into a strange, semi-conscious state, snapped back into reality when she saw the inside of the house. Now she understood why everything seemed so familiar. She recognised everything in the room: the small stove in one corner, the old chair facing an ageing television set, the Matryoshka doll that sat on a shelf next to the portrait of a handsome young man in uniform.
And of course, the red-haired woman who sat by the stove on a rickety wooden chair. Two venomous green eyes looked up at Adder, and she felt terror well up inside her. This was the house she had grown up in, and the woman sitting in the room was her mother.
"Out with your father again, were you?", snapped her mother, and Adder fell to her knees.
"-No, please no..."
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Jul 25, 2011 17:13:06 GMT -5
"Wasp! NO!", Ferret heard Adder yell then the whole world grow bright then faded like a flash bomb going off. The darkness stayed for a while, until he could feel coldness seeping into his suit. He opened his eyes to find he was not in the sanctuary like anomaly grove but laying in a snow cover field alone. He stood up slowly and took in his surroundings; there was no trace of his teammates and he seemed to be the only living thing for miles around.
“-Where am I,” he said as he pulled out his PDA but soon found the device to be dead. With much irritation he put the device away just as a strong wind began to blow. Ferret shivered and pulled the rest of his gear together, he needed to find shelter. Looking around once more he thought he could see a structure out in the distance and began to walk to it. As he neared it he could begin to make out details, it was a medium sized decaying brick building and smoke was coming out of the chimney. But Ferret stopped dead in his tracks, he recognized this place.
“No, please god no,” he mutter slowly, “anything but that rat infested hellhole.”
However there was no mistaking it, this was the very orphanage that he and his sister had been sent too after their alcoholic mother perished in the fire. He stood stalk still not wishing to move. The living conditions of the place where unbearable, most of the time what little food there was had already been contaminated by the rats. But worst of all where the people who ran it. The staff would beat and berate the children for their own sick amusement.
“-Thought you could run, boy,” came a harsh voice from behind him as a hand grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
Pure instinct took over, Ferret whirled around and brought his G36 to bear, but instead of a cruel staff member it was Mag he was facing. The Freedom leader had a strange glassy look in his eyes, and then Ferret noticed that the French stalker was clenching three bullet wounds in his stomach. Ferret steep back as Mag fell to the ground next to the bodies of Adder and Wasp. The heat from his gun's barrel steamed in the cold winter air.
“-Well done runt boy, I didn't think you had it in you,” said Balalaika as she brushed passed him to examine the dead bodies, “our deal is done, I'll let you live.” As the small woman walked away Ferret fell to his knees,
“-What have I done.”
|
|
|
Post by Karcentric on Jul 27, 2011 2:31:46 GMT -5
"Looks like we're all in one piece." Peregrine said, looking around once more. He kicked the beast on the ground. "Can't wait to see what this place has in store as we go deeper in."
"It's going to be a barrel of laughs." Karc said, he was less worried about his own well being than for the rest of group. "I've seen some shitty places in the world but this place takes the cake as being the gloomiest."
As the group moved deeper into the forest it became apparent that there was more than met the eye with this part of the forest even with winter brightening the feel of the forest it still made Karc uneasy.
"I suppose finding Midas' base will a needle in a hay stack or whatever the saying is. Schwarz have you received any intel on it's location or how to identify entrances?" Karc asked.
"Not a fucking thing." Schwarz replied checking his PDA again, "Signal seems to be flickering however, maybe they have some sort of blocking device?" He suggested.
"Interesting, well we'll have to do things the old fashioned way." Karc muttered as continued walking, looking up at the trees that were ahead of them.
Renegade had barely made a noise since the encounter with the strange mutants, the pain in his forearm was subsiding, but it was the mental projection or 'fear factor' that had made him silent however, the sudden inescapable terror of being burnt again seemed to be back in a far more almost intolerable wave.
The thought that they were being followed again seemed to plague him, but the idea of saying anything seemed to a little absurd, the whole forest seemed to watch them, like they weren't welcome, he was worried that Karc wasn't sure where they were going as well about 50 other things. His unnaturally calm if that was the word attitude despite being out of communication reception and facing unknown mutants were taken with an open mind and almost cryptic comment.
"What do you mean by "the old fashioned way"?" Renegade asked Karc who was still gazing up at one of the taller trees.
Looking back Karc walked over to where Renegade and pointed to the tall tree.
"See how that tree is taller than the others around it?" He asked which was answered with a nod from Renegade, "Well if I have El nip up there and have a glance about, you know get a baring on our location and maybe spot something interesting or to our advantage."
Renegade nodding again, "That make's sense I guess."
El and Four chatting nearby when Karc tapped El on the shoulder and whispered something and nodding at the tree. With another affirmative nod El placed his pack by the trees base took three steps back and proceeded to climb the tree leaping from branch to branch and was soon out of view.
While El was climbing Karc and Four were patrolling the area, several minutes later they returned.
Nearly a minute later El landed hard in the snow with a hiss. Looking up to the group he spoke between breathes.
"Couldn't see the base... Saw several large areas of open land however, could be at one of them." Taking a deep breathe he continued, "Plus there was a strange glow in that direction," He said pointing in a north-easterly direction. "Not so sure about that one though."
Karc pondered with the information for several seconds before shrugging, "Let's head for the glow you saw." He said heading in the general direction with the group trailing him.
|
|
|
Post by Διμι on Jul 27, 2011 3:49:32 GMT -5
"Hello, Midas."
A gun clicked, pressing itself softly to the side of the mercenary's head, its barrel harshly cold and circular. A revolver, he thought desperately. His eyes darted wildly, but Jurgen and the rest of the team were nowhere to be found. The mercenary was bound to a chair in a shadowy room that seemed oddly familiar. A small table with several wine glasses stood off to the side. The mercenary recognized his own gun that lay on it, but it was much too far to do him any good now.
"You didn't think it could be over just like that, could you now? Leaving the rest of us to rot in the hands of Interpol, grabbing whatever money and weapons were left, and running off to that little Zone of yours?" The voice's accent was distinctly Italian. "Tell me, Midas, perhaps you'd have something to say in your defense? Surely you didn't think we'd never come back to pay you a visit?"
Midas felt a bead of cold sweat slowly trickle down his forehead. He had hoped for and expected quite that, but the cold steel now pressing into the back of his cranium was telling him something distinctly opposite to what he had expected.
"We... We could still work something out." he croaked "You have no idea of the latent potential of what that place holds. If we just transferred our operation... There are no laws enforced there, other than what the stalkers make of it."
"And where are your 'stalkers' now, Midas?" the voice inquired in an almost purring tone. The mercenary felt the barrel press harder to his head as he imagined the man's fingers slowly tighten on the trigger. A pause of uneasing quietude filled the room.
"You were always a coward." he heard the voice say.
A dull blast. The mercenary felt a heavy blow hit the back of his head as he fell forward with a dull ringing in his ears, the world before him dissolving with a flash into blinding white bubbles.
Peregrine quietly shook the odd ringing sound from his ears. For a moment, he could almost see a figure move up ahead. Fearing the worst, his hand instinctively drew near his sidearm, but the figure quickly disappeared. Whether it was a stalker or another ghostly apparition induced by some odd psy-effect, Peregrine thought, it couldn't be anything good.
THe sound of El dropping back down from the branches shook him back to reality. "Couldn't see the base... Saw several large areas of open land however, could be at one of them." Taking a deep breathe he continued, "Plus there was a strange glow in that direction, not so sure about that one though." the mercenary panted slightly as Karc sat still for a brief second.
"Let's head for the glow you saw." The merc said finally, and began to walk.
"A glow, eh?" Peregrine muttered "can't see an artifact-hungry merc not checking that one out." he fell silent for a moment. The voice had told him that Midas had been searching for something deep inside the forest. Perhaps that was where he had headed.
The group ambled on down their own path, the young loner now trailing near the rear. The forest was still lit by the sun shining brightly through the branches above, but Peregrine couldn't shake the illusion that the trees were slowly getting larger, and that there were now far more.
Something lying by the side of the road caught his attention. The loner quickly held up his hand and walked over to the limp form of the stalker lying on the ground. The man had vomited copious amounts of blood all over his face, neck, and chest, but Peregrine could still make out a thick Fu-Manchu moustache. Moreover, although the man seemed to have been looted by his assassins, the loner quickly spotted two hilts protruding from a pair of long sheaths on his belt. Wrapping his hand around the handles, Peregrine pulled out two intricate, light, and incredibly sharp foot-long blades.
"Seems Fu Manchu was quite the sword-master." he muttered to the rest of the team. The long knives easily put Peregrine's own steel implements to shame. "I think I'll be able to put these to good use." he said finally "although I'm more used to something of a smaller caliber."
As he slowly drew from the body, he noticed something else in the snow - a gigantic set of five-clawed paw prints leading to and from the woods. The smaller trees in the beast's path, he noted, were snapped and crushed. A tiny sliver of metal was stuck in a lone standing trunk, evidence of the only monster that could have done such a thing.
"Looks like that bear followed us here after all." he seethed. "Can't wait to see him again."
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Jul 27, 2011 15:47:46 GMT -5
“Strange,” Swift said studying the body and noting its posture, “it looks like our master swordsmen here fell victim to some very potent venom…snake venom from the looks of it.”
“-How did you know that, “asked Vorona as she looked at the female mercenary, curious to how she had come to the conclusion.
“-I'm from rattlesnake country,” replied the merc, “I've experienced and seen more snake bites then I care to admit.”
However just then the young loner's discoveries of the paw print and metal shard changed the topic, they were not going to wait around for Midas or his wayward beast they were going to follow him into the anomaly and hopefully get the drop on him.
The group traveled towards the northeast, towards the glow. The trees in this neck of the Red Forest where much thicker and taller than in other parts of the woods. Not only that but they also seemed to be getting bigger and more crowded until they had nearly blocked out all of the sun's light. The group was forced to use their flashlights to continue onward.
Suddenly Swift thought she could hear some kind of ringing, the sound was soft and almost soothing, like wind chimes but more constant.
“Can anyone else hear that,” she asked but it appeared that she was the only one, “Never mind, must be imagining things.”
Moving deeper into the dark recesses of the forest, the chimes got louder and more distinctive, and it soon became clear that they were not figment of the mind but real. The glow itself had also become visible to the group as they continued on to the source of the anomaly.
The anomaly's web tighten around the newcomers and fed of the minds of its already dreaming prisoners. It grew in sized and became more powerful, luring the minds deeper into itself.
|
|
|
Post by Karcentric on Jul 27, 2011 21:43:13 GMT -5
Looking at the blades Peregrine had acquired and back at the body, Karc muttered a comment.
"Looks like the wild got you sunshine, maybe you should of respected the forest a little more, huh?" He said with a chuckle, before adding a little more. "This chap was quite madly in love with the uhh, live by the land."
Kneeling by one of the paw prints Karc placed his hand within the slightly bloody print, "Jesus fucking Christ." He murmured in astonishment of the massive print.
Schwarz however had seen the blades Peregrine had sieved for himself, they too had a story but he decided against saying more than a few words.
"Mephisto's blades, curious and curiouser." He said before also looking at the print and the ground around it. "Several people have passed this way not long ago. Less than 5 hours I'd say."
The group followed the path of the other groups coming closer to the mysterious anomaly the effects seemed to be affecting everyone even Karc's despite his psi protection, which was certainly helping dull the effect only slightly.
“Can anyone else hear that,” Shift asked, but it appeared that she was the only one, “Never mind, must be imagining things.”
Karc could feel something was definitely afoot, but couldn't quite concentrate on it. The luring effect seemed to draw him forward, like the rest of the group.
Shaking his head and looking at the ground briefly something about the ground seemed wrong to him.
"There's something wrong, we... should stop?" He said not sure of the reason, looking to the ground hoping to find that allusive clue. He stopped with an almost tearing sensation mentally he took several steps back. When it dawned on him.
"STOP! NONE OF THE FOOTPRINTS LEAD BACK OUT!" He shouted, but the almost trance like state of the group seemed to be drawing them closer to the anomaly. Drawing the large Magnum he fired it into the air, followed by the massive cracking echo which made the others jump and stop momentarily, making them look around Karc waved his hand beckoning them to where he was standing. The look on their face showed a mental battle whether to continue forward of go back...
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Jul 28, 2011 5:11:47 GMT -5
Adder tried to run, but found herself completely unable to move. Her mother rose from her chair with an odd, almost serpentine smoothness, and Adder saw that the woman was a lot taller than she was. In fact, she seemed to have shrunk back to her childhood dimensions.
"Please mother...", pleaded Adder, the voice coming out of her mouth the way it was when she was a child.
"-Please what? Mother?", said Adder's mother. Her voice seemed to be taking on an odd, hissing quality that made Adder feel sick. "I know you don't see me as such, you little whore...you wish I never existed, that you could just be with your father..."
Adder's mother drew ever closer, her body's movements becoming ever more slithering and inhuman. The Commandant backed away slowly as if the air around her was becoming solid and obstructing her movements.
"Your father...your stupid drunkard of a father...I know what he does to you when he takes you out hunting."
Her mother's hands snapped forth and closed around her shoulders, squeezing them so hard that Adder screamed in pain.
"I know what he does!", said her mother again, her green eyes, the same as Adder's, staring into her daughter's. Adder quivered in horror when she saw that her mother's pupils had turned into two reptilian slits just like her own. "He touches you! And you let him do it, like the little whore that you are!"
Her mother's mouth twisted into a rictus of hatred and perverted joy, and Adder saw two long snake-like fangs there.
"And once you grow a bit, he'll want to fuck you! He'll fuck you, just like my own father did!"
"-NO!", yelled Adder, and suddenly she found herself on the other side of the room, out of her mother's terrible grasp. Her mother was facing her, having seemingly returned to normal.
"You're a liar", said Adder. "You always lied to me. You piled your own bitterness and hatred on my shoulders..."
"-Ah, face it, you stupid little bitch", said her mother, and Adder suddenly found herself staring at a mirror version of herself. "You hate me, but you also hate yourself. Because you know, you know that you've become just. Like. Me."
And then it was all gone. Adder found herself standing in what appeared to be a room in a very large building, the walls of which were lavishly decorated in an overly excessive Baroque style. She had no idea how she had arrived here, where she was, or what had happened to the scene with her mother. However, despite her apparent disappearance, Adder's mother's words still lingered.
You know that you've become just. Like. Me.[/b]
Adder shook her head. Her senses, her mind itself felt blurred. What was strange about the place she was in was that it also gave her a strange sense of intrusion, almost as if she were a trespasser on somebody else's property.
Uncertainly, she started to walk. She thought she could hear noise coming from upstairs, so she went up one of the two large flights of stairs that lead up to a landing above the room she was in. Once up on the landing, the noises seemed closer and more distinct, but they too felt alien, almost hostile to her senses. Adder listened intently for a moment before noticing that the noises were in fact voices, and one of them she recognised as Wasp's.
Cautiously, Adder went into the corridor beyond the landing, finally arriving in front of a half-open door. There suddenly came the sound of broken crockery, and Adder heard Wasp's voice again, callous and shallow:
"Clear that mess up, will you?"
Adder pushed the door open, and found herself facing a very, very strange situation indeed: There was a large table that stretched on to infinity in a long, rectangular room, the other end of which was lost in infinity. The table also seemed to be made out of money, golden coins to be exact. On the end of the table that Adder faced was a large chair, almost like a throne, which was also made entirely out of golden coins. As she looked around the room, Adder saw that the walls and the ceiling were covered with ruble notes, and that the floor was carpeted with what appeared to be cheques. Various credit cards were hanging on the walls like portraits or pictures.
And on the throne-like chair, in the middle of this insane display of wealth, sat Wasp. She was barely recognisable: the blonde woman looked more like a porcelain doll than her usual self, as her golden hair undulated in the rigid, artificial way only regular trips to the hairdresser could produce, and her face and skin seemed to be painted with some kind of white make-up. She also wore a white and blue dress, the kind one would expect a child from a very wealthy and old fashioned family to wear, as well as a pair of small, shiny black shoes.
"What...", said Adder, her eyes wide. As she spoke, Wasp waved a hand and spoke in the same spoilt and petulant manner as before, and Adder suddenly noticed that there was a servant standing next to the young woman's chair, clad entirely in black and with a teapot instead of a head.
"-What are you standing there for? Go fetch me some more tea! And don't forget the vodka in it, this time, you incompetent fool."
The servant scurried off, pushing past Adder, and was immediately replaced by another servant, a maid this time, armed with a mop and bucket. Her head was that of a sponge.
"Clear this mess up", snapped Wasp, pointing to a huge pool of black tea which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The pool seemed more akin to a small sea than a small mess on the floor, but it somehow managed to fit into the room without conflicting with the rest of the furniture. Adder blinked and felt herself go slightly mad.
"You!", snapped Wasp in petulant irritation, staring straight at Adder. "What are you doing here?"
Adder stepped forward, like a drunkard in mist, not quite controlling her movements. As she drew close to where Wasp sat, her right hand rose and fell, and a slap landed on Wasp's painted face.
"OW!", said the young woman, falling sideways and causing her carefully assembled chair to collapse with the tinkling of coins. "How dare you...boss?"
The world around them flickered and blurred, and the faceless maid, who was down on her hands and knees and scrubbing the floor, froze mid-scrub. Wasp looked around her in confusion, and then up at Adder.
"Where...what...hey, I recognise all this...", she said.
"-Yes", said Adder. Everything was becoming clear now. "You're in a dream."
"-Yeah...I had that dream just last night", said Wasp, standing up gingerly and looking down at her strange attire. "God, I look like a doll..."
"-Everything is a dream", said Adder, looking around at the immense room they were in. "Everything. It's all the product of our subconscious. Before I arrived here, I was in a dream too..."
"-But...how? Did we just fall asleep? And how can you even be here? Other people can't be in other people's dreams, unless the person who's dreaming actually dreamt them in."
"-I don't know", said Adder. "All I know is that my dream ended just where it usually ends and I wake up, but instead of waking up and finding myself in the Red Forest, or wherever it is we currently are, I found myself in your dream."
"-Insane", said Wasp. "Completely insane."
"-I know", said Adder. "I know..."
Will add moar later
|
|
|
Post by Zeno, Lord Camelith on Jul 28, 2011 11:16:52 GMT -5
"STOP! NONE OF THE FOOTPRINTS LEAD BACK OUT" Skomorokh heard one of the mercenaries shout, followed by a gunshot, and stopped suddenly. A twig snapped under his boot and he cringed. Luckily, none of the stalkers had seemed to notice.
Moving closer to the group, he could see them all gathered behind one of the mercs, evidently pondering whether to continue forward or not. As Skomorokh watched the group, the bullet from Karc's pistol reached the apex of its flight and began its descent. Moments later it smashed through the canopy and into the ground at the trenchcoated stalker's feet. "ЛАЙНО!" he shouted in surprise, and stumbled backwards up against a tree. The sound of his Balalaika colliding with the trunk of tree produced an eerie and somewhat ominous thunk.
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Jul 28, 2011 14:46:23 GMT -5
“What have I done,” said Ferret kneeling in front of the corpses of his dead comrades his firearm lay across his lap. He could hear light footsteps in the snow approaching him; however he did not turn or even move, he knew they were here to put an end to him. He heard the sound of a gun being cocked, and closed his eyes. There was a loud bang and Ferret slumped to the ground, the scene was no longer a snow covered field but the pre Chernobyl city of Pripyat.
The young boy dropped the small pistol and it clattered on the asphalt, the younger Ferret clad in a wool coat walked to the dead form of his older self and ripped away the Freedom patch from the cadaver's suit before running off into the city. The city despite being in its pre disaster grandeur was empty, no one walked its streets and no traffic moved along the roads. Like a picture stuck in time, or a memory lost in the moment. Ferret was in the same state as the city, stuck in the past and his mind empty.
The child continued to run until he reached the play ground near the elementary school. He went up to the swing set and sat upon one of the swings, he looked at the patch in his hands and rubbed the fraying edges with his thumbs, swing slighty.
________________________________
The sound of Karc's gun going off called the Indian stalker's mind back from where ever it had gone to. She shook her head slightly to shake the vestiges of sleep off. Stepping back she could see what he meant, the trail of footprints lead deeper into the woods but none of the footprints had returned this way.
However some members of the group had not been fully broken from their trance like state, Vorona was one such member. She looked blankly at the Mercenary, in a fashion reminiscent to someone on a hallucinogenic before turning and started to take another step towards the anomaly. However before she was able to complete the action, Swift rushed out and took hold of one of the taller woman's arms and pulled back before shaking her.
“Wake up,” said the merc roughly still shaking the woman. Finally the loner came too, blinking a few times she looked around completely bewilder.
“-what just happen?” asked a very confused Vorona.
“-Nothing good,” said Swift letting go of the other woman, “It might be a good time to leave and rethink our strategy.”
|
|
|
Post by Karcentric on Jul 29, 2011 10:33:56 GMT -5
Renegade could hear the sound of water breaking on the shore of a beach, he could almost see it and feel the breeze. Something behind him sounded like a warning but he figured it was going to be okay regardless. However the shock of Karc's revolver coupled with the sheer sound made Renegade aware of the delusion he been under.
Turning he saw Karc frantically waving for the group to go to him, a powerful urge to ignore him and go forward strained his mind before with some mental effort he headed back towards the mercenary who was looking off into the woods pointing the large caliber revolver.
Karc spun around quickly at the sound of Skomorokh's Balalaika. Pointing the large revolver where he thought he heard the sound. Waiting for any sort of movement he lifted gun and turned back to the group.
"I know there's something ahead drawing us towards it, but as I tried to say, there isn't any returning prints, meaning no ones came back." Karc said looking to each stalker in the group. "I don't know what sort of anomaly it is ahead but I suspect it's been doing this for a while, drawing in helpless stalkers and leading them to their death. The question... Do we all follow or does someone want to volunteer? I'll go if no one else wants to. But your safety here isn't guaranteed with that damn psychotic midget running around the forest." He said his eyes scanning the area again, that noise was definitely not made by a mutant.
Looking back at the way towards the anomaly he decided to see what was there.
“Fuck it, I'll go.” Karc said holding his assault rifle pointed forward expecting the worst. With a sudden sudden flash of light he was standing in a room which was completely black except for the floor beneath his feet. It seemed he was standing on a ledge with no exit. The anomaly seemed to be some nightmare, his dislike of heights seemed to be the main focus. “Fucking great.” He said.
The idea that he was stuck in the same place made him dizzy, crouching he looked around, in the distance there was a door maybe 20 metres away at most. Fishing around in one of his pockets he came upon a small round stone. I don't remember picking that up. He thought before lobbing it at the door, resulting in two things, firstly the door seemed to be made of a rubbery material as the stone rebounded off with a dull thud. Secondly and more importantly, as the stone struck the ground, rather than plummet as he thought it would, it appeared as if the floor had rushed to where the stone fell. The vision made his head spin again, placing his hand where he saw nothing resulted in the same action, tiles and bits of stone seemed to rush up to meet the area of contact, pressing on the newly formed floor he found it to be as solid as the ground he was sitting on.
With a sigh of relief he stood and watching as the floor fell from where his hand had just been. Still in doubt he decided to place his faith in the strange floor. Taking a step and like before the floor rushed to meet his feet eventually he got to where the stone still lay, stooping he picked it up and put it back in his pocket. The door was mere feet from him now, running his hand along the door, the surface felt like rough timber but was flexible like a sheet of rubber. Turning the door knob the door opened revealing a long hallway. Snow was falling except in reverse, raising in the same care free way it fell clinging to the ceiling way above.
“What is this place?” He asked in wonder slowly moving forward looking at the strange sight, was this all part of some strange dream that the anomaly induced. “It can't be,” He answered himself, “otherwise the I'd of seen the bodies of whoever entered earlier.” Maybe it was a space anomaly of some sort. “That makes more sense, it must tap into the psyche of each individual who enters it, making them see their dreams...” He paused “Or nightmares.”
Reaching the end of the hallway he found no door with a sigh he turned to find that the way back had changed, into a multi directional foot path. Pondering which way to go he eventually took the stone out of his pocket again and looked to it, hoping it would somehow give him the answer. “Well? Which way?” He asked
However that was chosen for him, at that second a barrage of gunfire whistled past slamming into the wall behind him, looking up he saw one a mercenary firing upon him, going for his 1911 he found it was gone, as was the BFR and the SCAR L. “Shit.” He managed before charging off into one of the paths at random still clutching the stone in his left hand, taking a sharp left hand turn he found he'd managed to nearly end up directly behind the merc. Looking down he found he had only the falchion he'd taken from Torch's corpse. Drawing the blade slowly to avoid it rasping and giving his position away he took two deep breathes before running as silently as possible and swing the blade down hard upon the merc's shoulder into his neck only to have the illusion disappear making him fall forward due to force he'd put in to the blow. Picking himself up. The snow raised from his body, to the ceiling which was noticeably closer now. “Fucking timers...” He muttered.
Looking around he decided to go in the direction the illusion had come from. Taking note to watch the ceiling as it slowly drew nearer and nearer. Oddly despite the cold conditions he didn't feel cold at all.
Only as he walked did he remember the stone was still clutched in his left hand. Looking at it it had changed shape, it was now an arrow pointing directly ahead. “Huh, useful little thing aren't you.” He commented. Eventually he came upon a camp of mercenaries of odd thing was that they weren't moving, simply sitting staring at the burnt out camp fire. As he neared they burst into smoke and were gone, much like the lone mercenary he'd encountered before. However in their place his 1911 was laying, sheathing the blade he snatched up his pistol, and gave in a checking over, the magazine was full and it wasn't damaged at all. “Success!” He said to the arrow. The ceiling was now within reach if he jumped. “Not much time.” He said.
Following the arrow at a hurried pace he finally came upon another long corridor. With what looked another door at the end of it. “Yes!” He cried before being confronted with someone stepping out of the door. Stopping instantly he recognised the weapons hanging from the other persons holster and pack. They were his. Looking upon the man's face he saw that the man had several jagged scars on his left check and was missing the tip of his right ear. Also that his hair was the same colour as his own only dyed on the opposite sides. He was looking at a mirrored version of himself. Who happened to be armed far better than him.
“-I see you have my mask and pistol. Others of you had my revolver and assault rifle, now I'll teach you that taking other people's stuff isn't nice.” He said clicking the SCAR into full auto.
“Who are you?” Karc asked already suspecting he knew the answer, but asked anyway stalling slightly, hoping to get the other one to talk some more.
“-You really don't know? You're my clone, there were others but they're dead now, just like you'll be soon. You think I don't know what you're doing? Stalling for time against yourself, tsk tsk Elliot and I thought you knew better than that.” The clone said with an arrogant air to his voice.
“That man is dead, dead you hear,” Karc said, readying himself knowing he had one chance or he'd end up like his other selves...
Drawing the pistol he faked to jump right and flung himself left firing as quickly as his trigger finger would allow, the ploy worked as the clone raised the weapon and fired to where he thought Karc would land however before he could correct 3 .45 rounds smashed through his face dropping him in a bloody mess.
Pushing himself up from the ground again this time bumping his head on the ceiling he quickly ran to where the corpse of his clone lay, rolling the body over he sneered, “And you call yourself me.” He muttered taking his rifle, revolver, and the rest of his knives and the backpacks he'd been carrying. Upon holstering the BFR which he did lastly the world seemed to change again.
This time he was in a hallway in an old house, The stone was the shape of a stone again so he put it in his pocket, taking a step forward the floor boards creaked under his weight, a second creak from somewhere else in the house made Karc stop, spinning around and ducking he caught sight of a merc looking rather frightened.
“-Who are you!?” The man asked slightly baffled, “-Where are we, we were looking for some damn artifact and suddenly there was this flash of light and now everyone is gone.”
“Everyone? Whose everyone?” Karc asked his hand hovering by the BFR should this man prove hostile. “Who are you?”
“-Minya, Minya Moskvin.” The man replied, Karc's mind drifted back, this man's name had been on the list Schwarz had acquired. “Midas wanted us to find some artifact.”
“So Minya, we should stick together, you know strength in numbers.” Karc suggested. Looking out of one of the gaps in the boarded up windows he saw that there were many other building like the one he was in.
“Come on buddy, let's get outside, there's bound to be something interesting and maybe a clue on how we leave.” Karc suggested.
“-That's just it. There's no door leading outside.” The terrified merc said, visibly shaking he may have been a hardened soldier but he was out of his depth with this world.
“Not a problem, stand back.” Karc said firing the SCAR at the wooden wall before ramming into it with the full weight of his frame, smashing through the wall again falling flat on his face.
I'm getting good at falling on my face. He thought. Pushing himself up. Minya followed gingerly peering left and right before stepping through the hole, “-You haven't seen anyone else have you?” He asked cautiously.
“You wouldn't believe what I've seen.” Karc said scanning the area, it seemed to be a massive area of run down houses, row after row. “All I know is this anomaly has been doing this for sometime, I think it taps into your self concious and makes you live your dreams or nightmares, if not than I've gone insane.”
“-We were looking an unknown anomaly of sorts, we came upon a grove that glowed... Maybe I shouldn't be telling you.” Minya said suddenly, suspicion hanging upon his voice. “I still don't recognise you from our group and Midas said...”
But before he could say another word Karc shot the merc in the chest twice. “I'm sure he said a whole lot of things sweetheart. Unfortunately he probably didn't warn you about me.” Karc said with a smile, taking several mags from the corpse the rows of house seemed to go on forever everywhere he looked..
“I wonder if I'm in someone else's dream now? This seems far too... plain for what I experienced before.” He muttered as he walked.
Before he could ponder any longer a cry came from somewhere nearby and several identical mercs came running after him all wielding pistols. It seemed Minya wasn't dead after all, and now Karc was stuck in his dream world somehow.
“Fuck.” Karc said before running away, as the occasional round sailed overhead or smacked into the ground nearby. Firing blindly with his SCAR he hit one of the clones seeming to enrage the the mob behind him as they charged after him. “Piss off you fucking bastards.” He shouted firing again as a round glanced off his armour.
Ahead he saw a large door deciding he'd chance it inside the rickety building he put on a burst of speed sprinting hard he shouldered the door open and slammed it shut jumping and rolling over the table crashing into a couple of the chairs, in a second he had his assault rifle pointed at the door waiting.
After a minute the group didn't appear., getting up cautiously he crept over to the door and kicked it open, only to have it swing back and hit him. “For fuck sake.” He muttered picking up the dropped rifle. Only than did he look around...
The building was decorated in Baroque style, the patterns eased Karc's slightly frantic mind, drawing the 1911 despite the safer situation he wandered quietly around the massive mansion. Finally coming upon a room that had a massive table in the middle of it, the far end of the room was out of sight.
Climbing up onto the table he walked along it, the room seemed to stretch forever, losing count of the chairs after somewhere past the 540th chair. Finally he spotted two figures in the distance he still had the 1911 in his hand as he finally neared them, the rooms deceptively long length was slightly blurred almost, yet there was something almost familiar about this place, his mind couldn't remember why however.
Pushing the thought from his mind he was aware he must have passed from Minya's dream into someone else's. He wondered who would dream about such a decadent building. Both figures, females turned to stare at Karc as he approached. He recognised Adder by her eyes, however couldn't pick the other woman, who was dressed in an almost doll like manner.
“You, I recognise you, you're Nadya or Adder aren't you?” He asked his voice staying neutral, “I'm sorry I don't know you however.” He said to Wasp.
“Have you any idea what the fuck is going on?” He asked. It had only just occurred to him than that he'd spent most of his time here fighting or running from one problem to another. Pulling out one of the large chairs tucked into the table he dropped on it. “That's better.” he sighed.
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Aug 20, 2011 16:31:40 GMT -5
Adder and Wasp immediately turned to face the new arrival, aiming their guns at him. The effect of having two guns pointed right at him was lessened by the fact Wasp was still wearing her doll attire.
“Have you any idea what the fuck is going on?”, said the stranger before grabbing a chair and sitting down, seemingly relieved. Adder and Wasp glanced at each other and lowered their weapons. The man seemed friendly enough, and vaguely familiar to Adder.
"-Well...", said Wasp, who was more confident than Adder. "We're in an anomaly. I think. An anomaly that can absorb people's dreams and make them real...this is my dream."
"-Pretty well said", said Adder, who was looking suspiciously at the stranger. "And who are you? How do you know me?"
"-I don't think that matters too much, boss", said Wasp, looking around her. The world of money and luxury that surrounded them seemed to be fading away. Soon, the mansion, the strange object servants and the money all vanished. Wasp found herself wearing her usual attire, and they all found themselves in an enormous, grey and empty space.
"-This is too fucking odd for me", said Adder. Sweat was beading on her forehead, and she had a hunted look about her. "All this is fucking insane. Hell, how do I know you're Wasp?"
She gave Wasp a deeply suspicious look before turning to the man, who was sitting on the floor now that his chair had vanished.
"How do I know you're a real person and not some illusion conjured up by this fucking anomaly to mislead us? Huh? How do I know...how do I know I'm really me? Is this really an anomaly? Maybe I'm dreaming...or this is some hallucination brought on by fever..."
"-Doubt is not an option...", said Wasp uneasily. Her right hand touched her left hand in an inconscious gesture, as if to verify she was real and solid. Her eyes were also taking on the same suspicious and fearful glow as Adder's.
"-You're...you're right", said Adder, wiping sweat from her brow and making a visible effort to stay calm. "We need to...to find a way out, or find the artefact. It has to be the artefact making all this. It has to be..."
The commandant looked around her. Nothing remained. There was only grey nothingness, so how could they find their way? She took a compass out of her pocket and examined it. The needle was spinning around in complete confusion. A look at her PDA told her that it too was utterly useless: the screen had gone blank and blurry, devoid of any useful information regarding their location.
"Maybe...maybe we should just set off and hope we get somewhere?", said Adder limply. "That's all I can think of."
"-Maybe we can make our wills work together to reach our goal?", said Wasp just as limply, but her suggestion seemed to restore hope in the two women.
"-Yeah, maybe that could work!", said Adder. "Come on, let's get going."
________________________________
The confusion following Karc's gunshot did not last long. Everyone snapped out of their trance, or whatever it was they'd fallen into. Spinner stood for a moment, gazing blankly at the artefact that apparently lay ahead. He shook his head and listened to what Karc had to say. Even though everything seemed normal, he had to admit that the mercenary was probably right. Something just wasn't right about this place.
"I'm not going in there", said Spinner, stepping away from the gap in the wall. "I don't know what's in there, but it could shred us in seconds for all we know."
Coming here had been a bad idea anyway. This damn forest was cursed. Hell, the Witch was around, too, just to make things worse.
And then Karcentric did the unthinkable. He strode boldly into the gap and into the clearing beyond. As he got close to the centre of said clearing, he simply blinked out of existence. One moment he was there, the next he wasn't. It was as simple as that, and it was also terrifying.
"Fuck", said Spinner. "Did you see that? He just vanished! We'd better get the fuck out of here before something bad happens to us too!"
______________________________
Well would you look at that...
Balalaika was standing in front of what appeared to be a large wall made of ice, snow and tree branches. How such a thing had been appeared was beyond her. Maybe some kind of anomaly? Some anomalies, especially the more powerful ones, could warp the area around them.
She'd also lost the group she was following. Her run into the monsters, followed by her hasty escape from the group's bullets, had lead her astray, and now she was rather lost. Swearing to herself, she made her way round the wall, eventually coming across an opening.
Judging from the look of said opening, it had been made with explosives. That meant that stalkers were nearby...but Balalaika could hear, see or sense anything. Out of curiosity, she peeked through the gap and saw something utterly marvelous. A round object, possibly an artefact, wrapped in pine branches and hovering above the ground in the centre of a large clearing.
Compelled by the prospect of getting a new artefact, Balalaika picked up a rock and stepped into the clearing. Tentatively, she threw the rock ahead of her, and it landed on the snowy ground unharmed. The small stalker cautiously made her way to the artefact, but something was strange about the place. As she got closer, the artefact seemed to gain a sense of "unreality". She felt queasy, but kept on walking in a dream-like trance. Suddenly, she noticed another gap to her left, and there she saw other people. They looked like they were miles away.
"What the...", she managed to say before she suddenly vanished, briefly tainting the air around the artefact with an unpleasant, inky black colour.
|
|
|
Post by Karcentric on Aug 22, 2011 1:46:16 GMT -5
“Yeah that's what I thought,” Karc said in response to Wasp's answer, “I told myself that, when I met another merc, who turned out to be working for the wrong people. I'm surprised I didn't mention it earlier.”
"-And who are you? How do you know me?" Adder asked.
“Karc, call me Karc I'm a Mercenary Agent with level 5 clearance. As for how I know you, I saw you when you arrived with the Dutier in Limansk, I also remember the commotion you and your friend caused leaving. Not to mention your eyes, almost anyone whose heard a rumour or two in the 100 rads has heard of you..”
"-How do I know you're a real person and not some illusion conjured up by this fucking anomaly to mislead us? Huh? How do I know...how do I know I'm really me? Is this really an anomaly? Maybe I'm dreaming...or this is some hallucination brought on by fever..." Adder retorted to Karc's reply.
“I guess you'll have to take that chance, but I've noticed something about this place which might be sheer luck, but we were able to meet each other which suggests that we may have been within close proximity another when we err... entered, maybe we can enter other's 'world' if we are near them of course there's no telling how large this place is or if we can communicate with the outside world.” He said, before adding “By the way, how many of you were there?”
Walking quietly to the left of the two women Karc checked his PDA every so often, in between he take a knife from it's sheathe twirling it about, time seemed to be moving at a glacial pace within the artifacts confines.
“So what was it that brought you here?” Karc asked looking around at the grey expanding as far as the eye could see.
Renegade watched with fascination and terror as Karc disappeared into nothingness. “I'm with Spinner on this one, whatever is beyond that gap is probably best left to those who dare to venture that way.”
Schwarz who had been watching quietly was stunned by the events too, looking to Peregrine he said. “Midas has probably done the same, so wherever Karc has gone that's where Midas and his group.” Letting the words sink in, “So we have two options now, follow or find his base.”
“What was that?” El asked, “Actually, never mind I thought I saw someone else go in there, over there.” He pointed towards the place where Balalaika had been seconds before.
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Aug 23, 2011 9:37:18 GMT -5
“He's right,” said Swift,” Midas being the greedy bastard he is most likely entered the anomaly to swipe any artifacts with in it.”
“Well I'm not one for staying put, “she said taking a bold step forward, “and there is no point in going back.”
The merc was about to enter into the anomaly when suddenly the tall loner woman called out from behind her.
“-wait,” said Vorona following after the short mercenary, “I'll go with you we might have better chances if we go together.”
The Indian merc turned to face the other woman, and then looked back at the group of men standing not all that far away. So much for brave knights in shining armor Swift thought to herself and replied to the younger woman.
“-Alright then,” said the merc with a nod, just before she and the other woman enter the anomaly she looked back and called out,
“It's your call Peregrine, just remember this might be the only time to catch the pig off guard.”
And with that both women enter the anomaly, seemingly blinking out of existence.
______________________________________________________ Something was wrong, the world had taken on a dark tinge as a dark ominous presents work its way into the illusion. The boy looked up from the patch; he had the vague feeling that he had felt it before. Memories flashed in his mind, the red forest, heading north, the expedition, Jupiter. Now he remembered, the ill feeling had been given off by Balalaika during their last encounter with her. He also regained his recollection of the artifact hunt and the strange anomaly grove. Nervously he looked around for any traces of the psychotic sniper, but had found none. She had not entered his dream, yet she was near.
“So…this was all just an illusion,” he said getting off the swing, the city of Pripyat now fading away into gray. Soon the illusion had disappeared altogether, replaced by an infinite gray empty expanse.
Ferret turned around to see an old wooden door materialize in front of him. The child hesitated before walking up to it and cautiously turned the handle. He opened the door and was blinded by a bright light, when he opened his eyes he was back to his adult self and was dressed back into his normal apparel. However he was no longer in the infinite expanse but rather in a wheelhouse of a large ship. Glancing behind him he saw that the wood door he had entered from had disappeared, however that was not the issue.
The ship was under attack by dark shadowy figures that banged on the windows and hatches of the enclosed bridge. In the center of the room a woman cried over the body of a man who looked to be in his late fifties. The man was slowly disintegrating into dust, just as the first of the shadow people barged into the room. Oddly enough none of the room's occupants seemed interested or even seemed to know that he was standing right there. The intruder lunged at the blond woman as she shrieked in terror and tears continued to stream from her light coloured eyes. Ferret drew his scoped assault rifle to bear; he pulled the trigger and let a short burst of lead into the shadow person. The attacker fell to the ground then burst into a black smoke. Ferret moved in front of the woman as more of the shadowy assailants charged into the room.
Ferret continued to mow down the oncoming specters. Finally when the last of them fell and turned to smoke he turned to face the owner of the dream.
She was still shaken up, but soon the Freedomer began to wonder if the person before him was real or just a part of the illusion.
Vorona held herself, she had kept telling herself it was just a dream but it felt too real, like it was happening all over again. The anomaly was just too strong and eventually she had to give in; suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking over she saw the man that had defended her.
“Are you all right,” he asked her in an almost uncertain voice.
“-Yes I am now,” she answered unsure if this man was one of the trap stalkers Karc had spoken of or was just a part of the dreamland, “are…you real or just a part of the dream?”
“-I was about to ask you the same thing,” he replied still unsure, “ you don't look like anyone I know, then again maybe that is a good thing.”
“-How so,” Vorona ask the Freedomer.
“-It's harder to dream of people you don't know over the ones you do,” he said, “Anyway they call me Ferret, what about you.”
“-I think you have a point Ferret,” said the loner, “I go by Vorona.”
Unfortunately for the two the moment of peace was not going to last. The shadows had returned but this time they had grouped to gather to make a giant shadow bear. The Freedomer was not sure of his ability to handle such a beast took hold of the woman's arm and ran out of the room and on to the ship's deck.
“-We got to jump,” said Ferret already climbing on to the rails.
“-Are you insane,” Vorona almost shouted.
“- We're all mad here,” the Freedomer retorted just as the monster clawed its way out of the wheelhouse, the woman having little choice let the Freedomer pull her up on the rails. The two jumped into the water just as the beast swiped at the area they were just seconds before.
______________________________________________________
Everything was black, something wet was moving a crossed her face. Her hand came into contact with something soft, fur. Swift opened her eyes to see a Germen shepherd mix standing over her. The dog had complete heterochromia eyes one of the eyes was brown the other blue, around the animals neck hung a thick leather collar with a copper name plate that read Jake. The mercenary sat up and smiled, Jake had been her childhood pet. She had got him at the age of five as a pup and had a little over nine-teen good years with him before she had to put him down.
“At least I still have my faculties, hey boy,” she said giving the dog a scratch behind the ear; she did have to admit she missed the mutt.
The area in which she was in was dark but seemed to be getting lighter. Swift got up from her sitting position and looked around there was no sign of the loner woman, they must have gotten separated when they enter the anomaly. Finally the area had gotten light enough for her to make out details. She and Jake were on an island of sorts a tree supported a small patch of ground and floated above a pit that reached into eternity. The floating island was surrounded by other such islands but the where smaller and where upside down. Fireflies flew around the branches of each of the trees giving off a dim light. It was a very beautiful scene but this was not what she was after.
“There has to be someway off this thing,” she said and just then the dog barked calling her attention. She looked back at him to see a staircase had formed in the tree leading high up into the branches. Jake then bolted up the winding staircase; she followed him. She chased after him for what seemed like hours, the fireflies danced around her as she climbed higher and higher until she reach the very top, Jake was laying down behind him a green orb floated.
“Good boy,” she said and once again scratched him behind the ears, the dog sat up and licked his master's hand. After giving Jake a few more pats she got up and walked to the orb. When she took a hold of it the orb grew bright, so much so that Swift was forced to close her eyes. When she opened them she found herself in a room with Karc and two Freedom women.
“It seems I have gotten myself stuck in yet another dream,” she said to her dismay.
|
|