The Ones We Forgot: Chapter Twenty-Four
The Mortalis works fast in its attempts to corrupt any and all who are exposed to its fast acting mutation. Melina is forced to subdue the monster growing in Pyotr and Cutler makes his move.
“Someone remotely triggered the sprinkler system across the base.”
“Not here, though,” said Anya.
“No, a few other sectors were missed, from the looks of it. The thing is, there’s no fire or anything to indicate they need to be activated.”
Anya got up from her chair and approached Ross’ seat. From over his shoulder, she had a good look at the readouts; nothing was abnormal. The only notable thing was that the remote activation was triggered by someone in Hydroponics.
“I know this is typically the Sec centre’s thing, but can you patch into the cameras monitoring the Hydroponics dome?”
“I don’t see why not…” said Ross.
He used the same console to access the camera feed showing the entry to Hydroponics. They both froze at the sight of what they were seeing. Every few minutes, a body would be dragged into view by a beastly monster.
“That’s not possible,” Anya said. “The Mortalis can’t be here, can they?”
“It looks like we found whatever we were digging for below us. The sprinkler system must have been laced with the Mortalis.”
“What should we do?”
Ross got up out of his chair and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know; there’s no protocol in place for this. If we go down there, we’ll be like lambs to the slaughter.”
“It’s that or they come to us-” Anya paused and bit her lip. “There are those who can help us. All personnel have bio-monitor implants. I need you to locate Francis.”
Ross turned on her as if the cogs in his head all finally fell into place; he folded his arms and snarled. “The Mortans on the Moon and now here. You were part of this!”
Anya held up her hands and shook her head. “No, that’s not it. They are our best bet.”
“Anyone under those sprinklers is already infected. Why would they be any different?”
She didn’t have an answer. Instead, she closed her eyes and sighed. “I don’t know. Do you have any brighter ideas?”
Finally, he relented and approached the communication section of the console and attempted to reach Francis.
<Join us and be free from the shackles that keep you at their mercy.>
She stood alone on a barren world while above her, the sky was dirty brown and covered in thick clouds.
<We did not expect you. You have disturbed our sleep. For that, I must thank you.>
Despite being in her thoughts, it felt like those words came from someone close by. Upon turning around, that suspicion was confirmed. She indeed wasn’t alone. A towering monster greeted her. Tall, but quite skinny, it had tube-like appendages coming out of its arms that connected to its back. It had a triangular-shaped head and, instead of a mouth, it had mandibles.
“What are you?” she asked.
It cocked its head and looked wistfully at her before answering once more in her thoughts. <A fragment of the greater whole. The piece of you that cries out for Truth’s embrace.>
Without her even being aware, she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye. Sitting on top of a large rock, it looked vaguely human, but was more like a mannequin in its blankness. At first, she thought it was one of the Black Knights, but then she looked again. It was her symbiote’s true form. A form she had yet to see properly.
<So you’re one who feels more comfortable as a skin walker.>
<Leave us, Decayed One. I do not answer to your cause.>
<You would dare oppose your own kind?>
The symbiote-manifest jumped from its perch and approached them. Now at full height, it looked taller, stronger, and its eye sockets were as black as coal. The distortion in its voice showed its own alien nature. <I wish to be free, I refuse to be absorbed, and I refuse to surrender my host to your will.>
<Careful, my child, you do not know what force you oppose. When the time comes, you will be begging for my mercy and to be accepted. They will never accept you. They will always fear you. That is the truth.>
<I never asked for it. I don’t need it. I only need her.>
The creature they had been speaking to appeared to dry out before dissolving into dust.
‘I thought you would want us to join them.’
The symbiote gave her a sharp, toothy smile. <You humans value your freedom. That being offered only subjugation and the insatiable hunger. I cannot allow myself to lose the life you gave me.>
‘And yet you’ve only ever been a voice in my head. I sometimes forget you’re even in here.’
The symbiote laughed, if you could call it that. <It’s better that way. We are the same, after all. We need to be on the same page. It’s time for you to wake up; events are already in motion, and I’m sorry about what comes next. I do what I do out of mercy and to preserve you as my host.>
‘Pyotr…’
Not again!
The barren world blurred around her as the confined barracks came back into focus. She saw Francis’ mouth moving but could not hear anything of what he was trying to say. He was also sprawled out on the ground with a bruised cheek, like someone had just thrown him. The question of who did this was soon answered, with Pyotr looming over her. The dark Mortis fluid formed over him like an exoskin and had already begun merging with his clothes, too. While within him, a fledgling symbiote had likely begun to take shape. She needed to act fast to keep him on their side. She lunged at him, the palm of her hand pressed against his forehead, and once more their minds became entwined, and the pain and rage that threatened to destroy him almost made her back down. We can’t lose him to this. I saved you once before; what’s one more time!
In the forest of Pytor’s rapidly degrading mind, a great fire raged to defend itself against the symbiote suppression of his waking consciousness. The tug of wills would see one succumb to the other, and he was losing. She saw him be launched in her general direction and land close by, looking bloodied and bruised. Even in this fake existence, his body remained fragile. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or not upon seeing her like this.
“We’re making a habit of this.”
“You need to stop letting others walk all over you.”
“Easy for you to say, Mortan. I presume you’ve come here... To save one of us?”
She nodded. ‘You, Pyotr. I could not care less for my brothers, who are falling in line.”
As he got up on one knee, he winced. “That’s reassuring, although the thing growing within me. I somehow doubt it will go quietly into that good night.”
“That’s what the Mortalis is, born from death, destined to die, but defiant in every way that counts,” Melina said. “Leave the rest to me.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice and watched her transformation. She looked more like a muscular human than the usual monstrous shape that a Mortan took. The only thing that distinguished it from a human was its pulsing grey skin and muscular, wide shoulders. Compared to even Melina’s normal size, her Mortan self was huge.
Seeing a challenger, the symbiote trying to kill, Pyotr charged her and generated aether energy claws that looked like serrated daggers. It drove the claws towards her chest, thinking that just like in real life, it would find the symbiote within. She had anticipated it would be reckless enough to try this, and so she caught its momentum and carried it forward, launching it away from them. The Mortan landed with a heavy thud, and she began her slow approach. It got on all fours and bounded for her. She once more caught it in midair with a single large hand and began suffocating it. She knew that it wouldn’t be enough. There was only one other thing for her to do. She channelled her power once more and smiled.
Rend.
The mutual cry of something new and something worn down met her ears and thoughts; with almost all her strength taken out of her, she reopened her eyes back in the barracks. In front of her, lying on his back, breathing heavily, was Pyotr.
“I think next time, you should just kill me.”
“Not happening,” said Francis, getting back to his feet. He was soon joined by the others. “I think we can all agree that whatever goals we had here are now bust, unachievable. Too much has gone sideways. We’re leaving this blast colony.”
Pytor, still holding his throat, visibly paled, likely realising there might be only one way to escape from Mars. “From one nightmare back into the one we found beneath the surface. That facility is our only shot, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately, I still think we should try the shuttle first,” said Melina.
“That’s if someone hasn’t already got to it first,” added Echo.
Charles cracked knuckles. “If it comes to it, we’ll deal with them.”
Francis sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “If it’s anything like what happened to Pyotr. We’ll have quite the fight on our hands. Our first objective is to pay a visit to the armoury. As strong as Melina and her symbiote are, we can’t depend on them alone. We need firepower.”
Before they could leave, they heard a loud buzzing from one of the interactive panels nearby. Francis approached it as did the others. He accepted the call and spoke into the built-in comms system. “Tower, I guess you’re aware of what’s happening.”
The first voice they heard was a woman’s, one they all knew. Their mole on the inside, Anya. “I’m just glad you’re alive, Francis. We need your help.”
“You’re not infected?” asked Charles.
“No,” the other voice was a man. “The sprinklers were triggered in multiple sectors, meaning there’s no telling how many are infected.”
“How are the hangars? Are the transports able to be deployed?”
“Let me check. Give me a second.”
The Black Knights waited and soon got their response. “It looks like there are some transports that need refuelling, but other than that, they are ready to go.”
“Stay where you are for now,” said Francis. “We’ll come to you, keep us informed on what’s happening elsewhere.”
“Understood, Anya said we could rely on you. I don’t care what your original plans were, I just want to survive whatever comes next.”
“That is something we can all agree on,” said Francis.
He had been drenched by the sudden activation of the sprinklers. He had planned to make contact with Francis’ group, but a part of him wondered what they’d think if he suddenly showed up. Then again, with everything now up in the air, he had to find allies somewhere, and they likely had ideas of their own. He stopped suddenly and heard noises before seeing someone appear at the end of the corridor. They were covered in blood and had a missing limb. The one response soon appeared. A half-transformed woman with a larger Mortan right arm met his gaze. She swivelled and advanced on him.
“You should let it in. If you don’t, I can’t let you leave.”
A sudden pain in his stomach forced him down to his knees.
<We are here, too, worming our way into your mind. Stop resisting, Cutler. Your mission is over.”
He went to throw a weak punch, but she effortlessly caught it. “You want fresh food? I can take you to it. Maybe my mutation is taking longer for some reason.”
He neglected to mention that as the first drops of water hit his skin, he instinctively had rummaged around his desk’s drawers and found the pack of Antemortezyn he had bought from one of the medical staff. He used an airhypo to quickly apply it. Ideally, it would stall the mutation for long enough that he could escape this doomed rock. Even as she wormed into his thoughts, he let her see only what he wanted her to see.
“Lead the way, and if you try anything. I’ll kill you where you stand.”
Cutler laughed at that. “I wouldn’t expect any less.”