Ch 7: arise

The d@rk ag$s

POV: si€#

"Motion detected near site 6"the monitoring system stated with a simple robotic voice as a small blue cube appeared before me.

"measure the organism's threat level" I replied, the cube proceeded to form a screen the size of a tv before my digital consciousness. A small ghost appeared to be scanning through a pile of bones next to the base of an old oak tree that was covered in tiny microscopic red eyes.

After watching it for a bit It came to a full stop in the middle of the air. "Will I ever find my risen?" It questioned loudly as if expecting an answer only for it to accept it will never receive one as it lowered its singular eye in disappointment. It hovered in place dejected while staring at an old pile of bones. "Giving up already little shell?" I asked in an ominous voice.

It immediately shot into the air, slightly scraping against my sensors in its panic as it rose and scanned its surroundings. It hovered above in the air for quite a while before finally relaxing and continuing to scan through the piles of bones that littered the ground albeit with a bit more caution.

I watched as It glanced around periodically seemingly growing more and more paranoid of my voice. It seemed to finally give up on this location as it flew through the tree line and onto the nearby road making me lose sight of it temporarily but I wasn't done with it just yet. As the ghost continued its search along the road, a couple of red particles could be seen on the back of its shell slightly pulsing as they subtly directed its direction.

...

POV: ghost

Old and rusted factories lined the barely visible horizon as a soothing breeze passed by me, I couldn't feel it but I believe humans would've liked it. ~It took a couple weeks to search the factories but it was all a waste of time~ I told myself as I scanned the remains inside an old tent that looked like it was torn to shreds by a clawed beast.

I fly out of the tent through one of the several cuts of the tent only for a faraway glare to annoy me as I fly down an abandoned highway packed with rusty old cars with the occasional skeleton or two inside it. ~I should find out who's behind that glare as it might be humans but you never know~ I told myself before noticing the sun setting behind the building the glare was coming from.

The wind started to pick up as the gloomy sky began to cry. I quickly took shelter inside one of the many rusted cars as the rain seemed to tap dance on its roof for a while before eventually stopping. The ghost then continued its journey without complaint as it flew off into the dark road after turning on a flashlight.

Not even 10 minutes later, numerous bright blue lights could be spotted off in the distance slowly making their way toward me. I quickly flew off the road and dimmed my flashlight to avoid their patrol which would've been a headache to evade if they encountered me. I sighed in relief as I continued on the side of the road before passing what looked like a small patch of garbage which I hardly paid attention to.

Sadly just as I was flying past the small cut of a landfill my day was ruined. A fallen roar could be heard behind me which made me stop in place out of shock. I slowly turned around to see a fallen dreg standing on a mountain of trash. We both stared at each other for a good minute as we looked at each other.

Seeing no other choice as his fingers were slowly edging closer to the shock pistol on his waist. I puff up my outer shell in a last-ditch attempt to look like a bigger animal only for him to perceive it as a threat to him and quickly grab his shock pistol. "I just had to jinx it." I yell as I speed off as shots start coming my way.

I try to avoid the shots the best I could but they were starting to get a bit too close as they hit the branch that I was about to duck under as I continued going straight. I quickly opt to duck between the numerous cars and nearly get my shell blown off as three shots fly past me and hit a rusted car door which makes it crumble into a ball like a piece of paper. I could hear them getting closer to me as they jumped from car to car sending pieces of metal into the forest with an audible thud.

I tried a different approach and abandoned my cover by flying into the sky with my flashlight off as arc shots fly off into the night slowly going out of sight.

Seeing no other choice I quickly turn off my flashlight and start flying straight up while they're still expecting me to fly straight. I quickly fly into the forest and turn on my flashlight allowing me to narrowly avoid a branch poking out of the treetops.

Unfortunately, I stuck out like a sore thumb as I momentarily had the flashlight power of a flood light which lit up the way but also gave away my position.

I immediately head towards an overgrown city nearby in hopes of hiding out while things cooled off. ~I don't know if they have backup, I need to find a way to get them off my tail without inconveniencing myself~ I thought to myself before looking down at a few gaps in between trees which let me see 5 pairs of glowing blue eyes that were giving chasing.

I flew through the streets of an abandoned city marked as cherion, its neighborhoods practically covered in green. In some parts however, the streets were flooded as piles of dead leaves clogged drains to the fullest whilst giant lily pads floated unbothered by some bass that swam happily nearby. The grass was a beautiful and healthy shade of green as it swayed with the wind. But, I didn't have time to appreciate the scenery as a group of fallen reared their ugly heads, luckily they had yet to notice me so I quickly hid inside a lily pad after flipping it upside down.

As I floated ever so slightly above the water a bass tried to nibble on one of my edges. "stop, stop, shoo, leave me alone fish." I hastily whispered hoping the fish would leave me alone. Luckily I found a piece of glimmer stuck to me and threw it at the fish which scared it away. I even managed to skillfully take the piece of glimmer off it before It ran but it seemed I had bigger problems as it scraped the side of my lily pad creating ripples through the water.

Immediately after, I felt the water within the lily pad rise which made me panic a little as I started to pray for that fishes downfall. It seemed my prayers were answered as one of the fallen speared the fish that had just run away using a rusty shock spear that thankfully didn't electrocute the water.

I took a small peak out of my lily pad to see whether they had moved on, thankfully it didn't look like they brought any equipment that could let them stay for long. Which meant it was only a matter of time before they left town and resumed their patrol. While I waited them out, I imagined all the things I wanted to do with my risen once I found them, which ranged from accomplishing great feats to helping them escape great dangers with daring escapes, maybe even a heist if we go down that route.

After waiting under the lily pad for some time, I finally heard a band of fallen pikes approaching the group, hopefully, to take them away. After not hearing so much as a squeak or a whisper for a long time, I peered out expecting to see an empty camp with tracks that led elsewhere only to find them laying down on an overgrown sidewalk while a few younger ones fished.

I started questioning myself on how much of the truth the other ghosts have withheld from me. But quickly put that question on hold as I decided to try and sneak away stealthy. I moved the lily pad quietly to the other side of the pond without making noise or exposing myself. Upon reaching the other side of this flooded street, I quickly looked back at the fallen only to find that they had completely ignored me. I decided to head towards the building that I had earlier with something reflective on its roof.

The roads closer to this building were covered in some kind of red material that resembled flesh but at the same time slightly different. This fleshy material covered rusty cars entirely as well as a few steel barricades seemed to have been pushed apart with some even thrown into the forest. But this was quickly Ignored as a yellowish rock about half a meter tall covered in scratches and dried blood sat in the middle of the road with metallic parts of something poked out.

I cautiously circled around it to get a better look at what it was without approaching it in case of an ambush but my caution was for naught as a foul stench came. Upon analyzing a bit of it I came to the realization that It was a corpse of a man clad in some kind of armor with cracks all over seemingly of a hammer. He wore a fur cape that barely managed to reach his waist and several fragments of ghost hung from a wire wrapped around his neck.

I quickly scanned him just in case he was faking his death but sadly he wasn't. "Oh well" I said aloud before making sure to memorize the location for my risen to take his stuff in the future. I moved along and started heading downhill toward an abandoned building in the middle of a crater; the building's roof seemed to have mostly caved in with the exception of a few parts along the walls. I quickly flew towards it and found a piece of metal that was very shiny & reflective embedded into the building's concrete roof or what remained of it. I peeked inside and found glass that had only fragmented but hadn't shattered even though it looked like a pile of dirt was pressed up against it.

I quickly went to investigate and flew down the sides to see if it was being wrapped in dirt which turned out to be somewhat right as a trail of dirt, grass, and moss seemed to be growing upon the piles of boulders that surrounded most of the building as if trying to retake the building which stood defiantly within its sunken crater.

I quickly moved around trying to find the building's entrance only to find it buried deep below the earth. ~this building definitely has some golden-age tech if it can survive an explosion that would cause a crater of this size and keep the building somewhat intact.~ I flew just above the grass and avoided saplings that littered the trail before making my way down the hole in the roof.

A fleshy path spiraled downwards as pillars of glamorous columns of red flesh came into view the further I lowered myself. These pillars appeared to have depictions of a man in front of a pyramid holding a circle in his hands while another fuzzy circle was beside him in the shape of a rhombus. Vines of flesh interconnected the pillars but I simply flew in between them as I continued searching the place. One of the many dark corridors that I searched led to a green staircase that led into an area with very little light from where I stood. ~I could get trapped underneath but I could also find my risen down there....ah... Screw it~

Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, I noticed a dark blue liquid covering the floor in front of the staircase right in front of the last step. Curiosity seemed to take hold of the ghost as it decided to follow the liquid back to its origin. I passed several doors without labels before arriving before another 2 doors that were really beaten up as they had numerous scratches and what looked like bike marks.

The wall beside the second door seemed to have been dissolved using some kind of acid which looked like it was thrown using a bucket based on the pattern it made. I quickly peeked inside the room only to find something cruel and unusual.

A fallen was being held against a wall of red flesh, its arms skinny and covered in scars. It was detained by thorny vines coiled around its head which constantly inflated and deflated repeatedly on a similar cycle to that of a heartbeat. An unknown material formed an object shaped similar to pyramid dyed which punctured its skinny arms in various places. Its light blue eyes were unfocused and lost as they stared at the door blankly as if awaiting some kind of miracle or for someone to open it.

Its blood seemed to be what was seeping out from below the door. I scanned it's only to find nanomachines within the molecular makeup of both the pyramid and the flesh. ~what the fuck~ I think to myself as I quickly fly away in case the fallen spots me and alerts whatever is controlling the nanomachines. I fly into an area marked as hall 1 and see multiple cryo pods containing humans. I quickly decide to scan each and every last one of them excitedly like a little kid in a candy store only to have my excitement extinguished by the time I get to the last cryo pod.

I fly through the same door I entered feeling sad at the ratio between the number of people that I found to the amount that were compatible with me. It was practically soul-crushing. ~Perhaps I should give up on my search here and search elsewhere~ I told myself as I left hall 1 only for a flickering door sign in the corridor to catch my attention, "H0l1 2" the malfunctioning sign read to which I simply shrugged my non existent shoulders as I go to check this last room before getting out of here and searching elsewhere.

I quickly duck back into hall 1 just as a swarm of nanomachines flew through the corridor. After waiting a couple of minutes, I quietly peek out into the corridor and watched as they repaired the big hole in the wall that was probably made from a bucket of acid. But seeing them occupied gave me the opportunity I needed as I made my way to the open door of the dark hall 2 right as I heard a banging noise coming from somewhere in the facility.

I quickly scanned through all of the cryo pods as well as a pair of skeletons that were against the wall near the end. I hurriedly tried scanning all 40 cryo pods one by one and soon found myself before a measly 10 that I hadn't unchecked.

I scanned 5 more and was beginning to scan the sixth when I found out this human was compatible with me. I could feel Excitement coursed through my circuits as I started working to resurrect my risen. "I finally found you! We're gonna have so many fun adventures!" I said aloud only to notice a fleshy vine entering hall 2 out of the corner of my eye. It seemed to have entered through a back door and was definitely attracted to the light I was putting out.

It slithered towards me like a snake however I elected to ignore it and instead focused on my risen who was being rebuilt piece by piece within the cryo pod, a name inscribed on a plate just above him but it was half covered so it just read "Adam".

The vine finally arrived next me just as I finally transmated Adam out of his frozen prison which seemed scared the vine which was just about to attack. Seemingly out of fright It coiled around the cryo pod next to Adams which it pried open revealing a pale old man dressed in an old lab coat though he was badly preserved as chunks of skin were missing and it was clear he had started decomposing.

This didn't matter to the vine though as it cracked a hole in his skull before crawling in. The scene was very grotesque as the old man started forming lumps all of his body as the vine started slowly filling in the organs after throwing them out. I watched the whole endeavor play out as Adam was drowsy and disoriented after being dead for so long.

Pieces of the vine began to tear through the coat in random places until it finally covered both of the scientists corroded arms.

"ON YOUR FEET ADAM." I practically scream in his ear before quickly entering his backpack in order to avoid a devastating punch from the possessed scientist. He quickly sobered up after seeing the old man trying to punch me. Unfortunately he's far too late to react as the old man guides his fist into Adam's chest knocking him to the floor with ease. A small wave of Dust filled the air between them but that didn't seem to bother the old man as he lunged at Adam like a feral animal.

A struggle ensued as Adam managed to catch the old man's arms in time before they reached him. They both struggled to hold onto each as one wanted to take the others life while the other simply wished to live.

Just as the old man was starting to win a small pipe next to a cryopod let out a hiss which distracted the old man. He quickly took this opportunity to kick the old man off giving him an opportunity to gather his disarrayed thoughts.

The old man squirmed as he tried to get up only to fail. He seemed to freeze in place which made Adam lower his guard but soon raised it once more as he watched the old man rise with the help of a fleshy red tentacle extending from his back. Not knowing how to deal with the old man he scrambled to find a way to deal with him and soon remembered someone screaming in his ear earlier."I don't know who you are but if you're listening I could really use some help here." He asked aloud seemingly before waiting for the mysterious strangers voice to talk once more. "I'm incapable of fighting" the ghost responded apologetically, which seemed to cement the fact that he was on his own.

The old man threw an uppercut which Adam barely manages to avoid by stepping to the side. Adam quickly retaliated by punching the old man with his left which knocked the old man back an inch. Unfortunately, after that punch Adam didn't have a good hold of the ground as he stepped on a small hole in the ground causing him to wobble as he tried to balance.

The old man, seeing his opportunity rushed over and lunged at him. Unfortunately for the old man however Adam foot slipped into the hole making Adam fall to the floor. The old man looked somewhat shocked as it was too late to change course as he had put in too much power into his lunge.

They both glance at each other as the old man crash into the wall sending cracks up and down the previously strong wall. The crash seemed to knock the old man unconscious but Adam had a gut feeling it wouldn't stay that way forever.

Not wanting to be attacked again Adam rushes over to the unconscious old man and puts his hands out to try and choke him the same way he almost did to him.

But it seemed Adam had gotten carried away because as soon as he neared the old man. The old man simply turned his head a full 180 and looked at Adam with a hungered look as he proceeded to bite his forearm. Adam cried out in pain and started punching the old man until he finally let go after gaining numerous bruises which quickly disappeared like a dad without milk.

Adam quickly backed off which gave the old man the chance to untwist his head with his hands as he got up while laughing. Then with a loud pop the old man's head was back in place.

Yet the old man didn't stop laughing even though his laughter was composed mainly of weird gurgling sounds. Which seemed to tick Adam off as he stared at the old man with anger.

Yet this anger seemed to awaken something as a burning tattoo of a laughing man appeared on the back of adams hand. As soon as It appeared it started feeding Adam a strange feeling to his mind that he was stronger than was before but deep down he knew that wasn't the case at all.

Both of them stood there stunned whilst looking at Adam's fiery arm, both of them then flashed a smile on their face as they charged at one another. The vine flashed a smile for the possibility of a technological advancement in its otherwise stagnant research. Adam however smiled for a different reason, he smiled for the chance at survival he's been given in this cruel joke of a fight which pitted people or what used to be people against each other.

The old man changed his smile to a smirk when they came face to face, he jumped into the air with the help of the fleshy tentacle on his back which turned into a spring.

This didn't deter Adam and instead seemed to more of battle maniac as he continued forward despite being in an obvious disadvantage.

Then they swung at each other with a single fist. Their punches seemed to push the air itself aside as dust flew into the air as they rushed to meet each other.

Mere milliseconds before their fists collided the old man's smirk disappeared as he felt the instincts of his body scream danger but it was far to late as adams fist tore through his fist and forearm before reaching his shoulder which sent bits and pieces of the arm everywhere.

The shocked old man was sent flying eventually landing in the cryo pod he was taken from but that did little more than using a towel to touch lava. As his momentum sent the him and the pod crashing through the wall and into the corridor alongside debris and clouds of dust.

"head out the door, Turn left and start running down the corridor as fast as you can." The voice said urgently. "Alright, got it" I responded before following its directions and running down the corridor with my right arm still ablaze with the symbol of the laughing man.

A molten red arm grabbed the edge of the pod and tried pulling itself out but quickly fell back into the pod out of weakness. Seeing this other vines slithered over from the deeper parts of the corridor and wrapped themselves around the molten red body of the old man. The vines soon produced teeth and turns and started feasting on the injured old man. As they did so they created a fleshy cocoon around the pod which beat like a heart.

...

Meanwhile, In a cold, cold part of the facility machines began to stir, the cold metal gleamed brightly as it made its way to a small room. A huff of steam escaped a hose as an exo connected to a ridiculous amount of black and red cables lifted its shiny metallic head. Sparks of electricity popped as the cables that once connected to it were ripped away as it stood up.

A defeating silence and the occasional pop of an electrical circuit in the background was all that could be heard as the exo's eyelids slowly opened. Its eyes shined with a bright red light red before slowly dimming allowing a previously faint symbol to become more and more prominent within its pupil.

...

Adam found himself surrounded on all sides by swarms of siva locust, they emitted a loud buzzing sound as they flew around him. Adam struck again and again at the swarm but it felt as if it was for naught as more of the locust filled in the spots of the fallen locust.

Anger started to surge within Adam as he saw himself unable to deal with these damn pests. Unbeknownst to him however his anger was working in his favor as the tatto of the laughing man disappeared and in its place was a tattoo of fire.

Yellow lines started making their way up from his right hand to his shoulder before expanding even further on his body it felt like something was scraping against his skin and wondered what this would result in only for the lines through his body to start glowing brightly.

As this was all going on the swarm upped the volume of their buzz as they noticed Adam stopped. Unbeknownst to them however disaster was awaiting as Adam started glowing more and more. It was even starting to heat up the entire room. The swarm sensing the change in temperature changed tactics and gathered to strike rather than a encircle Adam in a cyclone.

He noticed the spear forming in front of him and quickly crossed his arms as the lines of bright light didn't let him move. He could only stand there like a sitting duck.

He felt a searching pain in his chest as the swarm pressed against his arms.

I could feel my entire body in pain and reacted the only way i knew how by screaming.

Almost as if sensing my imminent demise the lines on my body started glowing brightly and it felt as if I was in the middle of the sun slowly being turned into ash. I saw a wave of fire passing through the swarm of locust and smiled proudly before passing out due to exhaustion.

The metal from the locust in the surroundings fell upon Adam and enveloped his head creating what looked like a fully metal bikers helmet that was black like obsidian.

"Is this what I look like? '' a mysterious red eyed man asked aloud whilst looking at his own reflection through Adams helmet. A ghost popped out of it without so much as a word and scanned the mysterious man. "What do you intend to do, you're the last thing between us and our freedom?''

"I haven't decided yet" the mysterious man stated.

"It would be better if you let us go, we can avoid any bloodshed that way." The ghost suggested.

"You know I've only been alive for such a small amount of time and I've already learned so much. So tell me why did you pick this guy? He's overconfident, slow, and looks like he eats crayons." The man asked.

"He can bear the power of the light as for the rest of what you've said it can all be changed in due time." The ghost responded

"What makes being a bearer of the light so important?" The stranger asked

"To survive what's coming" the ghost said in an ominous voice that wasn't its own.

~what's coming and was that this things voice?~ the man pondered.

"we will be going now" The ghost said before returning to Adam's backpack just as Adam starts to grab at the ground around him softly before finally opening his eyes. He sat up and found himself in the same room he was fighting the swarm in only this time everything was charred black. However a small part of the room remained uncharred by him. An exos metallic head soon disappeared into the shadows.

"We have to get out of here asap." Head up the stairs and prepare yourself. We might have some more friends waiting for us." The ghost stated as we made our way up the stairs I noticed a steel shutter covered in red flesh slowly making its descent. I raised my flaming fist and punched it which made the red flesh scatter and keep their distance from me as I jumped through the hole but not before taking a steel beam that broke off from the gate and going about my escape.

Much to my suprise the steel beam didn't melt down because of my flames but instead covered it. ~A mighty fine weapon if I do say so myself~ Up ahead the red flesh was constructing a barricade similar to that of a big snow plow however I showed little fear for as soon as I neared the flesh retreated but pulsed angrily as if trying to talk shit but I ignored it as I focused on jumping over the snow plow the size of a bed. Rays of sunlight could be seen up ahead as large pieces of concrete created a path upwards the light blue sky. I ran towards it whilst punching through any flesh vines that got in my way as I sent them flying through the air in various directions.

I soon reached the edge of the first concrete slab only to get punched which sent me rolling backwards 2-3 times before finally coming to a stop in a small crater. Dust filled the air but I could still clearly see a mummy slowly step towards me, arms extended as if expecting praise from an imaginary crowd as it created a bouquet of red roses in its hand. I quickly stood up much to its disappointment as it proceeded to turn the bouquet into a red vine themed whip. The mummy swung the vine upwards before finally slamming it down harshly however it didn't seem that accustomed to a whip as it fell short just a couple inches away from my feet.

I quickly reached for it in an attempt to reduce the whip to ashes using my fire, however it seemed to know my intentions as it quickly coated itself in a weird liquid which prevented my flames from burning it. However I got a good grip on the whip as the mummy swung his whip towards a wall behind him. Allowing me to experience flight like a bird before I slammed into a wall creating a large crack which slowly spread upwards. Luckily I fell near a pile of debris that held some decent sized rocks which I threw at the mummy like flaming snowballs. The mummy didn't seem to like that very much as it dropped its whip as it wasn't effective against my skillful throwing and opted to charge at me whilst coating itself in the same liquid that the whip had.

I kept on chucking flaming rocks at it whilst it created craters with each step it took towards me, its legs grew bigger as they became slightly redder whilst its upper body became more pale and skinny. It dashed towards me whilst making a slight detour towards the steel beam I brought in. It grabbed the beam with ease before throwing it at me as it shattered the stones I had previously chunked at it. I tried to avoid it by jumping to the side but failed miserably as it lodged itself into the back of my leg. I face planted onto the floor creating yet another crater on the ground. The damn mummy simply looked at me as if I was an object of great pity as it walked towards me without a worry.

It leaned down in front of me "your friends put up more of a fight than you." I simply sat there confused as I listened to the mummy ramble about my "friends" as I slowly dyeing the ground around me. I felt my anger constantly rising as I was forced to listen to him mocking me by telling me how he used the corpses of my friends for research and blasted them to pieces with explosives. I looked over at the sky through the hole in order to have my final moments in peace but even that was ruined by the damn mummy as he slammed his foot into my face and walked towards the hole with his arms raised. The hole was promptly covered up by the fleshy red vines which pissed me off more than ever as I pulled myself out from the steel beam and charged one last time at the mummy with it.

The mummy simply smiled crazily "my name is m2 and it was nice meeting you Adam." He reached for the steel beam in an attempt to stop my charge in it's tracks using only one hand. ~I'll kill you, I'll FUCKEN KIll YOU!~ The beam was lit ablaze with a frightening blood red flame just as it neared its target. It pierced right through the palm of his hands and through his chest but I didn't stop there. I continued charging until I buried the beam halfway into the wall whilst ignoring the dust that tried continuously to cover my eyes.

The mummy's entire chest was charred black as an even darker liquid leaked out of its mouth staining its red linen as it left its body "let me tell you something adam"

"What?" I asked somewhat puzzled as to what it could tell me.

"Just a couple of last words come closer" Adam did as the dying monster asked and moved to stand before it just as it spit out more of that dark liquid.

"it's not fun to die alone"

"Is that all?" I asked more puzzled than before.

"No" It said softly

"You should come along F R I E N D" it said manically as It quickly grabbed before I had a chance to react and impailed me alongside it with the last bit of strength that I had. ~A fitting end for both of our miserable lives~ I thought as my eyes slowly closed. But my curse had just begun, I found myself once again before the impaled monster without the slightest scratch on me, It felt unreal, I knew I had just died next to it but It felt so fake now and all I had to show that what I experienced was real was the piece of back leg armor that had a hole in it and the impaled mummy.

I decided to stop pondering how I was still alive and opted to leave this wretched place. I hopped from cement slab to cement slab as I made my way towards the blocked exit until I was before the barrier. I concentrated on lighting my arm abalze with the power of the light which coursed through me slightly weaker than before. It took a couple of seconds but I managed to light my arm ablaze before pulling back my fist and releasing it in one powerful punch. It created a hole the same size and shape as my fist but that steadily changed as my flames ate away at the dense barrier of flesh. As the flesh retreated I pulled my fish back to my side as I watched the first ray of light finally penetrate through the burning wall of flesh. "It's beautiful isn't it" A voice asked as I smiled and took in the beauty of the sky as sunlight made it's way past me and into the darkness below.