Elimination
A story adapted for the "Prototype" video game
Prologue:
December 21st, 2012. The date when many people said that the world would end and life on Earth would change forever. Many people said that they were safe from the end, but what came was unexpected to everyone. No one was prepared when the virus struck on that fateful day. It was just…there was something where there was nothing. And this was no ordinary virus; this was a plague that, when infected, could kill in just a few hours. No one, no matter how strong a medical immunity they had, was safe from this virus. The military called this thing "Eliminator" and tried to find a vaccine for this disease, but all their efforts proved to be in vain when many head country leaders became infected and died that same day.
Some cities became so infected that the virus rapidly spread its reign across the city, transforming it into a "hive". From these hives came infected…things. These "things" soon became as deadly as the virus itself for they were super-strong and had the ability to resist many different weaponry. The public called them "Reapers" because of their size, speed, strength and intelligence in hunting. One of the worst struck cities of the world was Hong Kong Island itself, a major metropolis of Asia that, in one day, became a "hive" housing thousands of "Reapers". But these creatures were not just mindlessly killing-it seemed like they had a secret objective to accomplish-its just that many people did not realize it yet. The "Reapers" had something to hide from humankind-and if there was a higher person controlling them.
In one day, the world fell into chaos and anarchy. In one day, marital law squashed political rule into the ground. In one day, the world came to an end, just like it was said in the ancient past. How would humanity survive the end?
Chapter 1:
The first thing she felt was pain. After that, a bad taste in her mouth that seemed really similar to blood, then more pain. It took her a colossal effort just to get her limbs working. When that was accomplished, she looked around her. She vaguely remembered that this was a street near her apartment near the harbor, but it looked nothing like a street she knew to be on…was it Hong Kong? God, she couldn't remember where she lived! Shaking her head, she continued looking around, everything illuminated by the morning sunlight. The street around her was covered in…red slime? Well, something red and slimy lying on the concrete. The signpost was bent over haphazardly, looking like it was about to fall over, the buildings had windows broken at random intervals, random things fluttered in the wind, and everything was covered in that red slime.
At that moment, something flew into her face. Pulling it away with a gasp of disgust, she picked up a piece of a newspaper that had been torn off. It read as follows:
END OF THE WORLD!
A mutated virus plague has spread across the entire world today, killing anyone it infects in just a few short hours. Many political leaders have already died from this disease, and no vaccine has been given to the public from the military, who say that they are still working on it. With thousands upon thousands of people dying every hour, is the world really coming to and end like the Mayans predicted? Astrologists and religious leaders are at their wits end to try and figure this plague out, and the military has tried to create order, but martial law has been declared in many countries…
The rest of the paper had been torn off in a hurry, but the scrap of paper also came with a picture-a snapshot of a city avenue covered in the same slime as was around her. But there was something strange about this picture-the caption said "New York City, December 21st, 2012". Confused, she looked at the watch she remembered that she had on her arm, and it said it was the 22ndof December. Dropping the paper in shock, she realized what had happened-somehow this virus had transformed the whole world into what she saw around her now in a single day! Dumbfounded now, she stood there for a few seconds-then ran towards her apartment, hoping that it wasn't destroyed already.
Chapter 2
Bursting through her apartment door, she sighed in relief-her apartment was still intact, not having been destroyed like so many other things from this virus. Everything was still here-her old bed with the too short covers, her desk with its new laptop she got a…week…before, the pictures of her and…and…she looked at those pictures closer. Who were those people beside her, smiling like her? Then it clicked-they were her parents, Eddy and Jenna Markov, and she was…Diana! That was it! Diana Markov! Then she remembered something else-her parents had left Hong Kong to go on a business trip in the U.S, and they said they wouldn't be back for a while. Worry consumed her instantly and she turned away from the smiling image, not wanting to see it anymore. Walking away from her bedroom, she entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, feeling hungrier then ever before. Taking out a sandwich, she unwrapped it and bit into it…then spit it out in disgust. How could this sandwich taste so bad? It had only been in there for…at least a day.
Looking out of her kitchen window, she saw the same sight as before-the streets and buildings covered in red slime. At least the harbor sea to her right looked clean-it still sparkled blue-green from the morning sunlight. Smiling, she grabbed food supplies from her fridge that were still edible as well as her personal items-a small journal, a change of clothes, her hair braid, and the picture of her and her parents. Then she walked into her bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She wore a black short-sleeved shirt with a matching black skirt and black closed-toe shoes. Her hair was jet black, cascading in waves from her head and reaching her shoulders. And her face-God, it looked really ugly! She then washed her white skin and smiled-that looked better. Tying up her hair in the braid, she stepped out the door, planning to return tonight-with good food, of course.
As Diana Markov stepped outside to look for supplies, she did not notice something four-legged and pale-skinned with thick veins watching her from the rooftops above, giving a low growl in hunger, eyes glowing red with blood-lust. The thing traveled across the rooftops in Diana's direction, following her every move with increasing speed.
Chapter 3:
As Diana stepped through the streets of Hong Kong Island, her memories began to filter back-she had been living here for 2 years already, and knew many people in the office where she worked for many hours a day. However, one look at the city around her now told her that those people she knew as work friends did most likely not survive very long. Besides work, she had also met a few friends through her daily walks around the city, which, no matter what time, seemed to be always bustling with people and cars-except now. Now, with the red slime covering everything, the city seemed eerily silent-almost as if the city's breath had been sucked away or its energy drained, leaving a dry husk with gray buildings and dead streets with nothing but paper and vehicles left abandoned. Shaking her head in sadness and disgust, she continued moving, never turning around once, unable to notice the thing behind her on the rooftops.
The thing had been following Diana for an hour now, and it was getting very impatient with the human. Why didn't it just stop or turn around? But experience had taught it one thing for the few months it had lived-do not strike too early with these creatures. Although they are fragile, they are sensitive and reactive. This much it knew, and it hated humans for that. As it leaped across the next building top, it leapt out at her, unable to keep in a roar of hunger as it swooped down on the unguarded human.
All Diana heard was a strange roar-like a giant beast-before she was slammed into the ground by something very large. Stunned for a few seconds, she felt herself being picked up off the ground and held before the thing that had slammed into her. What she saw made her scream in pure terror-a red and white, vein-filled face that looked like it had been turned inside out so that the muscle was showing. As it opened its mouth she saw a large, black mouth with no teeth-the gum was black and blood red, and was that a white tongue? Screaming her fear, she kicked against the beast's face, stunning it for a few seconds. The thing dropped her as it stepped back, then charged her. But a few seconds was enough for her to pick up her bag and run at her top speed.
The thing was growling in rage as it was kicked in the face by its victim-how could it do that? It put that thought aside as it saw the target run away. The beast roared and charged forward, running on all four limbs to get its top speed, and it began to close in, slowly but surely it got closer to the target-the next meal.
Diana focused all of her energy just to keep her legs moving and not stumbling-if she stumbled even a bit, it would be the end for her-she knew that. As she ran, thoughts trickled into her brain. First was "what is this thing?"-After that was "why is it after me?" and then "was this the thing that had killed everyone else?" Lots of thoughts like this ran through her mind and exploded with confusion in an instant. She was so focused to keep her legs pumping that she didn't see the car in the middle of the road until it was too late to swerve. She gasped and tried to turn, but all she accomplished was loosing her footing. Quickly regaining it, she braced herself to impact against the car-her thought being "This is it…I'm dead now."
The beast saw its target about to run into a car and it burst forward-it couldn't let its meal get away. It reached the car just as the human slammed into it, picking up the car and raising it up in order to crush its meal. Seeing its meal not under there and was instead by a building, it howled its rage and threw the car at the victim
As Diana hit the car, she saw the beast charging forward and only had time to just dodge the beast's slam into the car, but the force of the beast threw her across the street, landing on the sidewalk just in front of a slime-covered skyscraper. Pain burst through her limbs as she heard the beast near the car. She opened her eyes to find the beast holding up the car with two hands! Stupefied, she couldn't dodge the car when the beast threw it at her.
Chapter 4:
Two blocks away, two military soldiers were driving a MAPC (Marine All Person Carrier) tank on a routine search. The driver wore sunglasses even though they were inside a tank and sported blond hair that stuck out through his helmet and gas mask. A black military uniform with heavy padding with a white undershirt and black pants covered his body.
"Man Jerry," he said to his companion "these 'routine' searches sure are a bore, right?"
"You hit it on the head there, Alvin" the other soldier replied, looking away from the GPS navigator the PAC carried and smiling at his friend. Unlike Alvin, Jerry wore a less-padded uniform-he was not really allowed outside the tank as he was the navigator, but he still wore the same mask as well as a white undershirt and black pants just like Alvin's-standard military uniform. The two had been friends ever since they had joined the military 2 months ago, and their purpose was to be ready for any world-killing threats. However, this virus had stunned even their own commanders, who had told them to make hourly patrols of set areas and report back anything that looked suspicious. By now, nothing suspicious had been seen beside the slime-but that was everywhere anyway.
"Man," Jerry muttered "we've been searching this place for hours now and nothing is reportable, even with that rumor of a 'Carrier' of 'Eliminator' being around here."
"Agreed," Alvin replied, "we should probably just go back to-"
He never finished his sentence as they both heard a loud Thooom coming from a few blocks away.
Alvin reached for the microphone to connect back to HQ. He pressed the "on" button and spoke to HQ.
"HQ, this is MPAC 13. We are near Central and patrolling the area, have detected major noise two blocks north north-west. We are investigating." He then waited for a reply as Jerry turned the tank towards the source of the sound.
Then a reply came fro HQ: "MAPC 13, proceed with investigation. If problem is serious, retreat to base and we will send in forces to take care of it."
"Affirmative, HQ" Alvin said, "we will send you word of the problem once we see it."
At that moment the tank crossed into the target area and saw a huge beast stand around the exploded wreckage of an old car. The beast turned to the noise of the tank and roared its rage, and then went back to the wreckage.
"HQ, we are seeing the target and it looks like a Reaper has just thrown a car into a skyscraper. It has seen us but is ignoring us, its mostly looking around the wreckage at something. Permission to fire?" Alvin tensed for the response. Two words came in response:
"Kill it."
Alvin nodded to Jerry with a grin on his face, and Jerry, also smiling, aimed the gun at the Reaper and was about to pull the trigger to fire when…
"Wait…" Jerry motioned with his hand, "I think I see someone in the wreckage."
"Oh, screw them!" Alvin shouted, "This is one of the few chances we'll get to kill a Reaper, so take it!" Jerry sighed then nodded in agreement, aiming the gun again and firing a stream of high-caliber cannon-rounds at the Reaper.
Diana had seen nothing but black when the car hit her, but the sounds of an explosion had hit her ears instantly. As she regained her senses, she now heard the sounds of a cannon being fired. Slipping out from under the wreckage, she looked and, with enough focus, saw that it was a tank that was making that sound; this was her first sighting of other people after she woke up just a few hours ago. The sound of steel bullets slicing into flesh then reached her ears, and she widened her eyes just as something slammed into the car, popping her out form the car like a cork would come from a wine bottle. She landed hard on the ground, and quickly got up, whipping around to see what had caused that crash.
The Reaper was now lying on the wrecked car, blood flowing form a dozen cannon holes from the tank, but it wasn't out by a long shot. It quickly got up and, in one giant leap, jumped onto the tank and ripped the hatch off. Inside, Jerry and Alvin gasped as they saw that the Reaper was trying to get inside the tank. Alvin, now frightened, pulled out his machine gun and fired up the hatch, trying to make the Reaper back off, but it only proceeded to make it all the more angry.
Diana gasped as she saw the scene-there were some people in the tank and they were going to be eaten by that thing! As she realized this, she faced a critical decision-help the people in the tank by drawing the beast away and putting herself at risk again, or running away now while the beast was distracted with the people in the tank. Indecision made her pause for a few seconds, and during that pause, the beast reached into the tank and slashed at what it thought was Alvin but was his gun, spilling bullet shells everywhere as Jerry quickly drove backwards, the tank moving away at top speed.
"HQ," Alvin shouted, "we are encountering heavy hostility from the Reaper! We are returning to base as best we can, but we need backup ASAP! Get it…AAAAHHH!" That noise was the Reaper pulling Alvin out of the tank and throwing him a huge distance as the radio cut off and the tank careened into a building that had once been Pacific Place, slamming through the windows and sliding inside, with the Reaper still on top, reaching inside for the next meal.
Chapter 5:
Diana then made her decision and raced forwards to the hole in the Pacific Place building, leaping inside just as a cannon shell hit her straight in the chest. Gasping as blood spilled out of the wound, her vision suddenly turned blood-red as she tried to keep conscious and stable. Meanwhile, Jerry's vision was also blood red, but with fear and a bit of Alvin's own blood as he tried to shake the beast off and was firing like crazy in random directions in order to try and get a hit at the Reaper still on top.
The Reaper was getting irritated-why was this human so hard to reach? It had gotten one of them when it had ripped the cover open, but that weapon of theirs was getting pretty annoying. Then it saw its former target standing against a pole, clutching its chest as blood seeped from an open wound. The beast then roared its hunger, leapt off the tank and rushed towards the frailer target, ready for revenge for earlier.
Diana saw the beast racing towards her from the speck of her vision-but something stopped her from running away. Instead, she turned and faced the beast head on, as something that felt like fire burned inside her and spread across her limbs, filling them with newfound power she had never felt before. Opening her eyes fully, they now glowed black mixed with red as she ran towards the beast, screaming at the top of her lungs as she felt her right arm transforming into…something.
"My God," Jerry thought as he looked out from the open hatch at the scene before her, "what the hell is that girl thinking? She's going to die for sure!" But what saw him next astounded him beyond belief.
The Reaper leaped at the girl, intending to catch it in its giant hands and crush it under the ground. But just as it was about to reach her, the human slipped aside and slid under it! Milliseconds later, the Reaper felt a stabbing pain from between the legs as it flew over the girl and fell to the ground, howling in pain as black blood gushed from a fresh wound.
Diana surged to her feet and whipped around, her hair bristling with energy, teeth bared and eyes blood-red as blood dripped from her right arm-that was now a blade! Her entire right arm had become a giant metallic blade, but black organic vines were connecting the weapon to her shoulder. The vines pulsed with her heartbeat and she could feel the energy from the blade pump through her veins. Seeing the beast in pain, she charged forwards at it and jumped much higher then ever before as she screamed her defiance at the wounded beast-and swung her blade in a loop as she fell downward.
The Reaper only had time to look up at the human it had thought was so weak now slice a blade through its skin like a knife through butter. The pain was too overwhelming-it screamed its death howl as blood burst everywhere and its limbs thrashed aimlessly for a few seconds, and then fell to the ground with a thud, dead.
At that moment, the radio in the tank came back on with HQ trying to communicate, but it was the voice of their general.
"MAPC 13, come in! God damn it, answer me you two! What is going on out there?"
Jerry, shocked from the scene before him, slowly slipped back into the tank and sent back one message back to HQ and the General.
"HQ… General Warfield…the rumors are true. There is a 'Carrier' of the 'Eliminator' virus here. Send all available personal to Hong Kong RIGHT NOW! I repeat, there is a…" Then the radio cut off for good.
Chapter 6:
Miles away, off the coast of what was once Repulse Bay, a military base stood erected on a stable patch of ground. In the middle of this base stood a conference room, where three people now stood watching a giant plasma screen. One wore a business suit and was sitting in a large chair, his face masked in shadow, another wore a military uniform with countless badges and the rank of a general, his face set in a stone glare. The third wore a scientific uniform and carried a clipboard with lots of notes, her face showing terror and surprise. All these people had just heard the message sent from Jerry and only the businessman seemed unsurprised-the general was surprised, he just didn't show it in his face.
"A 'Carrier'?" the woman gulped with an American accent, "In Hong Kong? I thought that it was just a rumor, but-"
"Rumors or not, Dr. Tamilia," the businessman interrupted, his voice ringing with an Asian accent, "this 'Carrier' is now a major threat in our containment of Hong Kong against the virus." He then gestured to the screen, which now flashed with static, with a bony hand; "From what we have just heard from MAPC 13 and its occupants, our soldiers are not ready to handle both these threats at once."
"Sir, with all due respect," the general replied with the gruff voice he always spoke on base, his eyes showing his anger at the insult thrown at him, "my men were brought here to take down Reapers, not what we all thought was just a rumor. How your little science project three years ago in Manhattan led to this I will never understand, but-"
"You will NOT speak of that incident, General Warfield!" the businessman snapped, leaning his face into the light, revealing a pale face aged with countless years and wrinkles but eyes still sparkling with youth. "The Manhattan catastrophe was not of our concern-and neither were the things that came from it. What matters now is that 'Eliminator' has claimed a human body, just like in Manhattan. And both of you remember what happened in Manhattan, correct?" Leaning back, he clasped his hands together in a suggestive manner, smiling to himself.
Both Warfield and Dr. Tamilia did not need much reminding; when the virus that had struck Manhattan fused itself to create a killer weapon. Codenamed ZEUS, it was capable of morphing its body on the fly and could create devastating biochemical weapons that could kill with ease. And that was not counting its speed, strength and agility that were many times increased. It had been able to neutralize the most powerful military base by somehow "consuming" a soldier and entering unnoticed, only to then wreak havoc inside.
"ZEUS's days are over, sir," General Warfield said, "but this is something similar to it, and we should probably deal with it quickly and quietly before any havoc is caused."
"But how do you suggest we do that, General?" Dr. Tamilia asked.
"There are two possible ways," the General responded, "One hard and one easy. The easy way is that we just take out all of Hong Kong and kill everyone in it while we evacuate, thereby killing this 'Carrier' and all the Reapers here with the island. The hard way would be to capture the 'Carrier' alone and imprison it here while studying it in order to find a cure for 'Eliminator'."
"Well, then," the businessman said, "I think we know which way we will do, seeing as how you," pointing to Warfield, "General, like to play hardball with your troops and how you," pointing to Tamilia, "Doctor, like to study scientific things whenever you get a chance." Both people nodded, and the general left to mobilize his troops. Dr. Tamilia turned to the businessman one last time, worry on her face.
"Sir," she whispered, "what if all this goes wrong? What if this 'Carrier' is just like ZEUS was, and already knows its powers?"
"If that is the case, Doctor," the businessman responded with a cold smile, "we will just have to exterminate it. Understand?"
She nodded, and left the room, with the businessman leaning back in his chair, smiling at the screen that was now showing images of Diana from her encounter with the Reaper.
"You can run, 'Carrier'," he muttered, "but you cannot hide from us. We will find you. I will find you…my daughter."
Chapter 7:
"What the HELL just happened?"
That was the first thought to enter through Diana's rage-clouded mind as her vision cleared and mind recovered from…whatever that was she had just had. A rage outburst, perhaps-or maybe the virus was doing something to her. Whatever it was, she felt more powerful then ever before. As she flexed her muscles, she felt the arm-turned-blade morph back into a human arm by reformatting itself into the form, but it revealed black organic vines covering her entire arm for a few seconds. Surprised at this, she flexed the arm and fingers and they all worked fine. Then she looked at what was in front of her, and, seeing the dead thing before her with blood still oozing out of its death wound, she recoiled in pure disgust, almost throwing up but somehow keeping the bile under control.
In the same time, Jerry had peeked out from the tank's hatch again after trying to get the radio working again in the tank. Finding the radio out of commission without repairs, he had decided to check on the supposed 'Carrier'. He peeked out just as he saw Diana's blade morph back into an arm. He then quietly slipped out of the tank and hit the concrete floor as quietly as he could, stepping slowly towards the girl, gun drawn in caution.
Diana heard something from the direction of the tank and spun around, seeing one of the men from the tank walking towards her with a drawn machine gun.
"Don't move!" the man shouted as he raised his gun and aimed it at her. She complied, standing still but dealing a hard stare. This man had fear in his eyes-probably from that beast attacking him in the tank and seeing his fellow soldier die. The fear also showed in his hands-they were slightly shaking while he was holding the gun. She started to walk towards him, but a swift cry of "I said DON"T MOVE!" stopped her instantly.
Jerry felt really confused-this could be the rumored 'Carrier' he had heard some higher officials speak of one day, but how could it be a girl? Still, the power she had just shown spoke for itself, and he decided to take control of the situation.
"Get down and put your hands behind your head!" he ordered, and the girl did as he said, but there was something in her eyes that showed she knew something here. Calming himself, he pointed the gun at her and read the girl her rights.
"By order of the United States Disease Special Order, I am putting you under confinement for military examination. You have the right to remain silent and docile. Anything you do against us will be doubled in pain against you in confinement. I will now bring you to the Repulse Bay base to-"
"Wait, wait a moment here," the girl responded, her voice showing confusion "I think I just saved your life from that thing, and now you're putting me under arrest? Besides, there's nothing really wrong with me, is there?" Looking up at Jerry's face, her eyes glimmered with hope.
Not showing his grief for doing this on his face, Jerry kept his gun raised and leveled.
"Kid," he said, "I don't know yet, but from what I just saw, it seems what all the military personnel here thought was a rumor is now true. You're going to have to come with me to the base for examination". He started to walk towards her in order to pick her up, secretly taking out a tranquilizer syringe just in case she got rowdy.
Diana's thoughts flashed and exploded in confusion-who was this man? Why was he doing this to her-actually, why was she allowing it to happen? This man wanted her to go to a secret base on a "rumor" to be experimented on. Rage filled her veins-this man was trying to control her, like she was an object in his eyes. This she could not allow! But then she remembered the gun-that could kill her in a few seconds…wait…wasn't she able to survive a cannon shell into the chest? If that was true, then she could survive a few pesky bullets! Making a "snap" decision, she jumped up and kicked him in the chest, back flipping to land on her feet, and then burst away from him.
Jerry saw a blur as the girl leaped up and slammed a foot into his chest, knocking him back a few feet and making him drop his gun in pain. How did she do that without him seeing it? Quickly grabbing his gun, he raised it up and pointed it at…nothing? He spun around, scanning and listening for any sight or sound of the girl, but saw or heard nothing. Well, until something wrenched his gun from his hands and knocked him to the ground before he could reach the tranquilizer dart.
Diana thanked her silent walking skills that had scared many people at the office before-with them, she had been able to sneak up on this man from behind, wrench his gun away and was able to slam him to the ground. Now she pointed the gun at him, finger just over the trigger and anger in her eyes as she stood over him, one foot on his chest in order to prevent him from getting away.
"What do you want with me?" she asked him, rage and fear filling her voice, "Why is everyone after me? What have I done to upset anyone? WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?" She screamed the final words at him, complete fear filling her eyes now.
"Kid," Jerry responded, reaching for his syringe, "I don't know why you are like this, but you have to come with us. We can help you, find a cure for this…condition of yours. Please," he pleaded, hand reaching out in friendship and a smile of trust showing at his face, "trust me."
"Trust me" Diana whispered back, looking straight at this man's eyes. If all this had happened, she could have trusted him easily, but something inside her demanded her not to accept, that this man was lying, trying to trick her into going somewhere not good.
Then she saw it-still locking eyes with him but out of the corner of her vision-his hand was reaching for something. In a flash, the feeling inside her took over her as she realized she couldn't trust this man-and power filled her veins again as she leaped back, putting some distance between the two of them.
"I cannot trust you," she declared, "because you're afraid of me!" Seeing the man stand up shocked by her words, she continued.
"You think, because of this 'condition' that I have, I am an enemy to you, your men, and your country, don't you? If that's what you think, then let me tell you this…" she paused for a few moments before firing a shot that missed on purpose, millimeters from clipping his ear. Then, with a glare that could kill and a voice of power, she spoke:
"I'm not afraid to kill you and anyone who opposes me and what I do."
Jerry couldn't believe this-the ball of control was in her court now when it had just been in his-it had changed in an instant, before he could react. Now, with these declarations the girl had just spoke and the bullet that had almost clipped his ear in two, he snapped, breaking the control over his anger.
"OK," he snapped, "fine! If that's how you want to play, then you can kill me. Just be ready to face a billion more soldiers that are on their way here right now to capture and kill you!" Then he started laughing despite himself as they both heard the sound of multiple large vehicles approaching fast. He was laughing so hard he didn't see the girl approach him until she had grabbed him and slammed him against a wall.
"You know what," Diana whispered with a sneer on her lips as an unknown power filled her like before and her eyes morphed into the black/red color, "I don't have to kill them all. I just have to kill you." Then she punched through his chest, spilling blood as Jerry half-laughed half-screamed as he died, but his body then broke into pieces which organic vines from Diana's body caught and absorbed into her own body! At that moment, the vehicles that were approaching stopped at the broken hole, and many soldiers came out, racing inside. But Diana was ready for them as her body morphed into Jerry's uniform and body. However, a burst of pain flashed through Diana's brain as memories that weren't her own crawled into her brain.
Chapter 8:
A military base-location: Repulse Bay. Two new soldiers meeting for the first time and becoming fast friends-one named Jerry and the other named Alvin. These two recruits going through training-Jerry for tank operation and Alvin for navigation and searching. Jerry and Alvin talking about a rumor of a 'Carrier' of the 'Eliminator' virus-and laughing about it, thinking it wasn't true at all. Jerry and Alvin travelling through Hong Kong and hunting those beasts-they called them "Reapers". Jerry seeing a girl-Diana-in the wreckage. Alvin getting dragged out of the tank by the Reaper and thrown away. Jerry crashing the tank into the Pacific Place and seeing the girl kill the Reaper with the supposed powers of the 'Carrier'. The girl screaming at him to answer his questions, and Jerry reaching for a tranquilizer syringe-but the girl reacting beforehand. The girl killing Jerry with a sneer on her face and an insane look in her eyes.
Diana suddenly snapped her eyes open to find herself surrounded by soldiers, all aiming their guns at her. She braced herself for death-but they just stood there. Then a voice came through:
"Hey, Jerry," a male voice filtered through a headphone in her helmet, "you alright? You look pretty shook up." Then it hit her-she somehow was appearing as Jerry's body to these soldiers. Remembering the names of Jerry's friends, she quickly stood up, brushing dust off of her arms.
"I'm fine, Phil," she told the man who had asked, "but a bit shaken-up, like you said." Even her voice sounded like Jerry's-amazing.
"Well then, Private Hassel" a gruff voice came from the vehicles, "perhaps now you can tell us what in God's name happened here?" She turned to see a man with the rank of Captain approach, the soldiers parting to make way. She remembered him as Captain….Hazel, the leader of Jerry's squadron. The man continued to speak;
"General Warfield had told us of your transmission about a 'Carrier' for 'Eliminator' here, and immediately sent us here to track the 'Carrier'." His eyes then narrowed. "So where is it?"
"It...got away, sir" was Diana's response, "but not before it took my gun from me and ran through there really fast." She pointed into the Pacific Place interior to show where the 'Carrier'" went. Captain Hazel sighed deeply, shaking his head in plain disgust to Diana's eyes.
"Well then, Hassel, you just stay with the tank and make sure nothing else gets in here alive. We'll search the area for the 'Carrier', but if it isn't here,"
At this the Captain leaned forward treacherously, a leer on his face, "you can kiss your sorry ass goodbye for wasting valuable military time. Got it?"
"Yes sir," Diana responded with a strong demeanor, her eyes never leaving his, "I got it."
Captain Hazel gave no response to that, but shouted; "Move out! Search and destroy!" to his troops, who raced into Pacific Place in to find the 'Carrier'. With a final look, the captain followed, and Diana only morphed back to normal when everyone had passed the corner in pursuit of a lost cause.
"Actually," she thought, "perhaps I could 'appear' for them to try and kill for the fun of it." Smiling, she raced up the stairs and carefully moved after them, preparing herself for combat.
In a nearby tank, General Warfield was commanding a strike force consisting of five tanks (plus his own special tank which he controlled himself), 10 jeeps, each with 5 soldiers as well as 10 soldiers in the tanks. Flying above were 30 one-man helicopters armed with high-explosive rockets. This force was entering the Kowloon area across a recently built bridge that was created by the Hong Kong Government, but was now under military control. This bridge replaced the old "Star Ferry" for crossing across the Hong Kong Harbor to Kowloon, which many people did not actually appreciate because the ferry was said to be a "center" of Hong Kong. The military did not care about that, and neither did 'Eliminator'. In fact, Kowloon was a spot of a just sighted "hive", with many Reapers guarding it, according to military sightings.
"Ah…" Warfield thought as his forces entered Kowloon, "this virus doesn't have the manners to give us any peace around here." Sighing, he then checked with his troops-everyone was go for the Hive assault. As they entered the Hive area, they observed that the slime covering the street seemed redder then the previous slime. It seemed that the Hive's cover their areas in that slime-Warfield thought it was something important to the virus. He would look at that later with the scientists, but now he had to concentrate on destroying the Hive. Smiling, he scanned the area via satellite and found the Hive was just a block away.
"Then why," he thought as he looked around and saw nothing, "are there no Reapers here?" But his answer came when the ground burst from under the army and something came out from under the street. Something with a huge set of teeth and large, spider-like limbs arose from the concrete, spewing a white substance all over the tanks and immobilizing them. The helicopters were just able to dodge the shots, although a few were covered and fell to the ground, exploding on contact. Too late Warfield realized that this substance was in fact webbing, and it was freezing the tanks in place, leaving them helpless for the spider-like creature to devour.
At that moment, in the U.S White House, the President looked at a file stating the latest surge of the virus. Sitting in the sun-lit room, the floor reflected the rays of the sun. Beside his desk stood his secretary, and in front of him were a leading scientist on "Eliminator" and the general of the U.S armies. Skimming through the pages, he put the file down with a sigh.
"This cannot go on like this," he stated, "too many Americans-hell, too many people are loosing their lives to this disease. We have to take some kind of action."
"Mr. President," the general spoke, "with all due respect, you should not overreact like this. This incident will blow over, with or without our help."
"This will not just blow over, general," the scientist said with a thick American accent, "it is too strong to just let by. As the president has stated, we need to take action now before we're all killed-or worse."
"But what of the reported "Carrier" in Hong Kong?" the secretary asked, her face showing worry, "If it is true-"
"Which it probably isn't" the general cut in.
"…then we should study the "Carrier" in order to learn a cure for "Eliminator" the scientist continued unheeded, his voice showing his faith in his decision.
"The 'Carrier'…" the President muttered, clasping his hands in frustration, "such a thing should not be ignored." He then turned to the general and scientist.
"General, I propose that you get that 'Carrier', whoever it is, and destroy anyone who gets in your way." To the scientist he said "Once the 'Carrier' has been captured by the general, you have my permission to use any scientific methods needed to find a cure for 'Eliminator'" The two men nodded, and both went out of the room. Finally, the President turned to the secretary and whispered
"Research all you can about this rumor and who in Hong Kong it could be."
With a simple "Yes, sir" the secretary left with her notes, and the President sat back in his chair, a look of worry easily shown in his eyes.
Chapter 9:
Captain Hazel sighed to himself-this "capture" mission was turning out like all the others did-a false lead wasting military time and leading to the death of the one who had told them the information-that was the penalty for wasting military time now. Oh well, he thought as he smiled to himself, the people knew of the penalty even though they still did fake 'Carrier' acts. Shaking his head in disgust, he pressed on, scanning constantly for a sign of the 'Carrier'. If Private Hassel was not right on that thing being here, he would have to personally 'terminate' him. A half-hour had already passed in the search, and almost all of the Pacific Place area had been searched and cleared. Now they were on the ground floor, doing a final sweep before they returned to the contact site.
Nearby, Diana had been following the troops from an upper level, pacing herself so she wouldn't give herself away. Every time the soldiers went to a higher level, she slipped down to a lower level on the same side. Shots were fired sometimes by panicked soldiers when they thought they saw something, but she was always well away from the fire when that happened. She quickly learned that she could run up the sides of walls and ledges when she sprinted-quite cool, as well as being able to jump super-large heights when she charged the "energy" within her.
"Note to self" she thought; "speak to unknown energy about powers and how I could use them". She set that aside for later as she morphed into her blade and jumped out, preparing the same attack she had launched against that beast from earlier, feeling that unknown power fill her in anticipation for combat.
Captain Hazel whipped around as he heard a choke from the back of his troops, seeing a new soldier getting sliced in two from…a giant blade? Dumbfounded, it took him a second or two to recognize the target and start firing. By that time the girl had already sliced through at least three others, blood and guts spilling everywhere from the blade's motions.
"HQ", he quickly radioed, "we have found 'Carrier' in Pacific Place area, we are conflicting her, will try to lure out into the open. Send a strike team in preparation" The reply came instantly; "Confirmed, strike package on route to your area," and then "Strike package is go, repeat, go!" He smiled, racing to the door just a few yards away.
Diana, having heard the radio-in but not understanding it through the carnage she was causing, decided to cheat a little. Picking up a dead soldier's machine gun while disengaging her blade power, she started firing among the troops from range, many falling to her precise targeting.
"That's odd," she thought as she spilled bullet after bullet into enemy bodies, "I haven't fired this well since…well never!" Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the commander running towards the main door. She dropped the gun and charged after him, intending to kill-or consume-him before he ever got outside.
Hazel kept running, even though he heard the death cries of his fellow soldiers and machine guns firing. Eventually, he heard no more and that's when he really put on the speed. He was getting closer…closer…he could now wrench the door open and get out, but just as he was about to, something grabbed him from behind and burst the door open into the slime.
Diana now burst through the door, commander in her hand, as she scanned the outside area to find…
"Oh, shit!"
Around her were military helicopters with the same faction branch as the general, and just as they saw her, they started firing their machine guns at her. She quickly raced up the wall of Pacific Place, leaping on the roof, but the copters still followed her, still firing. She put on full speed, jumping over rooftops and batting aside satellites and air conditioners along the way, but the copters still pursued-they were pretty fast for a helicopter.
Hazel smiled-HQ had sent one of their best strike teams-Team Thunder Charlie, known to be the fastest strike team in the arsenal-to his aid. He was safe-now the 'Carrier' had nowhere to run, even though she kept leaping from roof to roof. It would only be a matter of time before she tired.
But then the Carrier stopped short and paused. A quick glance and an evil grin filled Hazel with fear as he was drawn back and thrown at a helicopter! He screamed as he tried to dodge in the air, but there was no way too.
The last thing Captain Hazel saw was the terrified face of Thunder Charlie's lead pilot before he slammed into the helicopter, exploding it into a fiery wreck.
The other pilots continued to attack, undaunted by the loss of their leader. But Diana was ready; picking up an AC unit, she threw it at the nearest chopper, making it explode and fall to the ground, its companions crying "We're hit!" and "We're going to die!". Doing this for every rooftop she came across, she blew them all up until there was one chopper left. She had saved up something special for this one-it was the last one. She would have to take it out quickly, because she was pretty injured from the bullets of the choppers-so injured, in fact, that her vision had gone almost white and blood could be heard roaring in her ears. Leaping up to a higher rooftop, she leapt up, aimed, and launched a devastating karate kick at the tail, sending it in a death spiral to the ground.
After the attack, she raced up the wall of a very large apartment building near her home, and halted at the roof. Looking around her, she saw that not the entire island had actually been covered in slime-the Causeway Bay, Admiralty and Wan Chai area seemed most affected. But far away, near Fortress Hill, it wasn't so bad. But first thing was first-she had to get back home to rest and to wonder how in the world had all this happened to her.
Chapter 10:
That evening, General Warfield stepped through the base doors showing a gruffer attitude then before-he and his strike team had barely survived that spider-monster's attack. Even thinking of it now gave him that same flashback;
Warfield stared at his tanks and choppers trying to fight back against the spider-like beast that had arisen from the earth. A second later, his military training took over, and he fired his rockets at the creature, each one dealing a strong explosion to the arachnid. But when the smoke cleared, only a few parts of it were wounded, and it looked angrier then before. It then reared up on 4 of its legs and used its front four to impale 4 tanks that were already covered by webbing, causing them to explode instantly. While it did that, more webbing sprayed from its backside, covering more choppers and making them crash and explode. Warfield could hear panicked shouts from his troops as they came under attack. As much as Warfield hated loosing a battle, he had to keep as many personnel as he could alive-they weren't expendable. He then shouted the call to retreat for all of his troops, and the tanks that were not already covered in webbing fired a few more shots, then turned tail and headed across the bridge to home base. Warfield took the rear, hearing the spider's chitters and cries of rage as they drove away.
Now, as Warfield stepped back into the base's walls, he had to report of this creature in the Kowloon district as well as take care of the 'Carrier'. Sighing in disgust, he sat down at his desk and started his report.
Back in Causeway Bay that night, Diana Markov had discovered a new ability; gliding across the air like a bird. And man, did she like doing it (Even though she fell to the ground quite a few times, but was not hurt-bonus). Combined with a form of "air dash" she had been working on over the afternoon, it made her feel really parkour. Now, as she stepped back into her apartment, she thought of how all this had happened-she didn't remember anything past when she first woke up near the harbor on that slime-filled street filled with pain, but the memories of that soldier-"Jerry"-had told her that the military had now taken control of Hong Kong Island and almost no one else was alive-or she was just not looking hard enough. As she stepped into her apartment, she was greeted with a strange sight-a girl about her age was rummaging through her items. She wore a hooded jacket with a black raven on its back, dark blue pants and white running shoes. The girl was so busy looking through the apartment that she did not hear Diana come in.
"What do you think you're doing here?" she half-shouted at the girl, who whipped around, startle evident in her lightning-blue eyes and the paleness of her face-a face with blond hair that seems familiar to Diana. In a quick flash, it comes back to her:
A park scene 2 months ago, Diana is sitting on the right side of a bench with a blond woman on the left. The two women joke with each other about their jobs-and each other.
"Man Diana," the blond woman says to Diana, "I can hardly believe how close we are, even though we're on opposite sides of the office-literally!"
"I know Elizabeth," Diana replies with a smile, "it seems so ironic and yet it seems so…right!"
They both laugh and hug the other before they depart their separate ways for the day-but a look in both of their eyes suggests more then just a friendship…
As Diana's vision returned to the present, her eyes widened as she recognized who this intruder really was-an old work friend of hers named Elizabeth Mormon. Both of them worked at the same office, but Elizabeth was at a much higher position then Diana was. Even so, both of them were close friends and were thinking of something more, but Elizabeth had to leave because of a promotion before they could start that. Diana slowly took off the hood of her jacket, letting her hair cascade down her back. Her eyes gleamed with tears as she hoarsely whispers the name of this person-and is answered with the same answer from Elizabeth. Then both girls race towards each other, hugging the other with an iron grip, with shouts of greetings and confusion coming from both of their mouths but neither of them caring.
After a few minutes of just hugging and getting to know the other again, Diana and Elizabeth separate and stare at the other's wear at silence, both noting a change in the other's trend.
"I never expected for you to be here," Diana says, breaking the silence, "of all places! Why the heck did you come back here when you had a major promotion in your hands?"
"Well," Elizabeth responds with a grin, "I just had to come back and see how things were going after 2 months, right? I just couldn't leave my old low-rank BFF behind forever, correct?" Diana laughs heartedly-something she has not done in quite a long time since Elizabeth left.
"At least your apartment is still standing" Elizabeth comments, "I've seen quite a few areas of town deserted, so I was glad to find a light inside a house."
"Why did you even come to my place anyway?" Diana asks.
"I knew that you were still living here, but I did not expect you to be away when I got here just a few minutes ago. I was looking through your items when I heard you."
"But what's with the black wear, hmm?"
"Well, I had to hide myself from anyone who could have suspicious ideas, right" The two chuckled more, and then went to make dinner-at least, Elizabeth did; Diana just wasn't hungry at the moment, even after all the action she had just been through.
Later that night, when Elizabeth was asleep, Diana was still awake with her day clothes on (she never liked to change into sleeping clothes), thoughts about her past, this virus, and how Elizabeth even got here filtering through her brain. She checked back on the memories of that soldier, Jerry. He had been only a private tank-guard, but he had searched through the base in his time there. This helped Diana now because she thought that the military were the source of all her problems-defeat the military and clear out Hong Kong on those…Reapers. So that was their name. But Jerry did not know everything-with disgust Diana realized that in order to gain more military information she would have to either consume more soldiers or infiltrate the Repulse Bay Base herself. She did not want to do either of these things, so she pushed that thought aside and considered the fate of her parents-they were both most likely dead, her mother a lot earlier then now-she had died when Diana was very young, leaving the father to take care of their child. She did not remember anything about her mother except a silver-tongued voice that sounded like it was singing rather then speaking. Diana shrugged it aside, went to sleep quickly, and soon fell into a dream…
The street she woke up on, normal before the virus came, bustling with the life of Hong Kong. Everything seemed normal, like the virus had never happened. Diana sighed in happiness as she immersed herself into this world…
Then a tinkling of glass, seemingly amplified to her own ears only, shattered this beauty as a massive column of red slime flew across the street, showering everything and everyone in its path with the slime. Anyone who got covered with it was absorbed into the column now advancing towards Diana. She tried to run, but her legs were rooted to the ground-they would not move. She didn't have time to block her face with her hands as the slime column absorbed her as well, her final scream tearing through the destructive noise of the construct. But just before she blacked out from fear and pain, a voice filtered into her brain-a deep and commanding voice, saying
"The time is now. The end of humankind has come. Arise, my creation, and destroy all who would appose my power over this world…"
Diana's eyes then opened in the real world, but they showed pure blood red, lacking a pupil inside them. A cruel smile came onto her face, as she slipped out of bed and silently went out the door. As she stepped outside, she looked up to the sky, now red with the aura of slime around her apartment building, and smiled even more, her mouth now showing fangs for teeth.
"Yes, Overlord," she said to no one in particular, "I understand what I must do. They all must die by my hand, for I am the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. The humans cannot stand against us, for we are terror incarnate. I am ready, and when you are free…" At this she morphed her blade-arm and rose it up to the sky in a gesture of power "…Earth will be ours to rule." Then she raced off in the direction of the Repulse Bay military base, mouth etched in an almost permanent grin of evil.
Chapter 11:
It could feel its calling finally answered-it smiled despite all the pain it was constantly under from these humans. Their time was at an end, and the ultimate race would arise from their death starting with his "Carrier" that it had so specifically chosen from the billions of humans on this world. As it felt it's "Carrier" approach where it was being held, it sent a surge of power to draw this human closer. The surge spread beyond the plexi-glass walls that held it caged, into the surrounding slime-covered walls which instantly grew cocoons that incubated Reapers to do its bidding. It chuckled, then howled in manical laughter, blood and death running through its mind as it heard the footsteps of humans approaching. This time, it would be the supreme being doing the "testing", not them.
Diana approached the source of her calling-a hidden barracks near the Chai Wan District named Genetor Labs, specifically designed to hide the torturous activities carried out with its scientists behind its silver-colored walls. As Diana approached, she felt a surge of energy pass through her body, filling her with joy and not a small bit of arousal. She felt as if her whole life had led up to this moment, and she just had to get inside to the 52nd floor-a quick image of the number confirmed it. She morphed into "Jerry", and sneaked through the main gate, but when she approached the keypad to enter, it said Base Key Required. She would have to consume the commander of this facility-and she saw her wandering around the next corner with no guards. She smiled inwardly and slipped forward-readying to grab and consume this human that she so desperately needed.
What Diana did not expect to see was the commander slip behind the corner, look around and then take out a framed picture from a hidden pocket in her uniform. The picture showed her Asian face with an older man and two young girls-most likely her daughters, all of Asian descent as well. She looked at it with love and pain for a few moments, and then slipped it quickly back inside. Diana felt a pang of remorse and sadness as well because she would have to kill this person who most likely had lost all of her former family before she joined the military. But before she could regret this decision, the "power" rushed across her mind, swiftly dispensing all of those thoughts. Filled with steadfast decision, she then slipped towards the commander/widow.
A swift grab, a slam against the wall, a back-breaking punch, and a living of the commander's memories later, Diana, now under the guise of the commander, appeared from the back wall and entered the base with the commander's key-but not without keeping the picture in her pocket.
A swift chuckle escaped from its lips as it released its hold on the last soldier's neck, blood on its fangs as the dried husk of the body fell to the ground with a THUD. These pieces of meat were nothing compared to the thing that had changed it and showed it the truth about this world. Not wiping its mouth, it then telepathically spread the slime across its room down the hall that connected this room to the facility, past the titanium door now ajar.
Then it waited. It did not need to wait long.
As Diana approached the source of her struggles, her body began to reveal more and more of her true form-the power beyond her was too strong to keep her disguise form in check. An almost death-like grin was plastered on her face, her teeth were starting to grow sharper, and her eyes were almost glowing blood-red. When she approached the neighboring hall, her eyes widened and she bit back a squeal of pleasure-the hall in front of her was coated in blood and human body parts, as well as soldier gear. This sight was too much for her and she reverted back to her normal form-if you could call it that now that the "power" had corrupted her body. With black, clawed hands, jet-black hair, blood-red eyes practically crackling with power and a grin that looked like she had been possessed by the worst demons of Hell, Diana did not look "human" or "normal" at all.
Entering the hall, which was shrouded in the now-familiar red slime, she saw large bubble-like flesh sacks on the wall slightly pulsing, but that did not compare to the creature walking forward toward her. Blood streaked across its humanoid body, red hair that whipped around its face, sharp fangs under a mouth etched into a smile of pain and suffering, eyes flashing neon red and skin pulsing with black vines covered with cuts, scrapes and scars, this was a truly horrific being. But Diana saw through the exterior and felt instead of fear there was arousal and…devotion to this godlike being.
"At last you have come" it whispered while stroking Diana's cheek with a soft touch, voice sounding like a thousand damned souls rather then one single sound, "we have so much to do and so many humans to slay."
"Yes…Overlord." Diana responded, kneeling and bowing her head before her new master and guardian, the person who she now knew controlled the "Eliminator" virus-and her as well.
General Warfield was, once again, inside an army tank, but this time he was heading towards the Gentor Labs in response to a distress call and "Carrier" sighting. He sighed in resignation-this "Carrier" was something that he did not want to have constantly at the back of his mind. But his higher superior ordered the Carrier's capture, so it had to be done, even if he didn't like to do it.
"Papa Bear to all tanks," Warfield radioed in, "all systems go?"
"Red Bear prepped and ready to kick some infected ass" the leader of one group responded.
"Violet Bear all good to go" the leader of the second group reported.
"Silver Bear locked and loaded. Yeeha!" exclaimed the third group's leader, to which Warfield shook his head silently; there always had to be one of those people in an army group. With that, the members of Red Bear approached first, leaping out of their tanks and quickly walking forward, guns at the ready.
"They are coming, young one," Overlord whispered into Diana's ear, "We must not give them the wrong impression of how much power we have over them."
"How do you suggest we destroy them, Overlord?" Diana questioned, now standing at the ready like the servant she was to her Overlord.
"I have prepared for this occasion for countless days, and I have brought a few guests with me" Overlord stated, waving his hand at the cocoons around the both of them, which now burst open with a coating of slime to reveal a dozen Reapers, roaring their birth cries, and then standing near Overlord, awaiting a command like Diana was.
"Use these Reapers to destroy the tanks that now encircle this building" Overlord began, waving his hand at the Reapers, "They know you are my second-in-command and they will obey your word as much as mine. Once the humans are slain, I will bring my full power to this building. Then you will see an amazing transformation."
"But I don't have enough power to destroy all of them!" Diana almost wailed, fear showing in her eyes as much of sadness.
"Do not worry, young one" Overlord soothingly said, putting both his hands on Diana's temples, "I will give you the power you need-as well as complete and utter obedience to me. Just relax and let your human thoughts go blank while the virus inside you is unleashed." At this Overlord focused, drawing power from itself into Diana's body and mind. Diana uttered a small gasp as she felt what remained of her human morale be sucked away into a void of darkness, from which came pure energy and power. She also felt a growing sense of trust and service to her Overlord, until it came to the point that she would obey his commands to the letter, defend him with her life, and worship him like a god on high. Her eyes slowly closed, as a final sigh left her lips and her body accepted this power that was being granted to her.
Overlord released his grip and Diana's head dropped, her black hair covering her face-until her hair started to glow a red aura and rise in wisps like tentacles. Her skin pulsed from head to feet with black for just a moment, then her head snapped back and a banshee-like scream slipped from her lips as her arms morphed between many different forms-blade, muscle, whip, fist, claw, spike, shield and human, her eyes remaining tightly shut the whole time.
The scream only lasted for a few seconds, but for Warfield and his teams, who heard that sound loud and clear, it felt like an eternity. Warfield visually gulped as he told his troops to continue the advance.
Inside, Diana slowly stood up, her whole body now flashing a red aura as her hair waved around in the air like a Medusa. Her arm and leg muscles had visually increased in strength, and her sweat-covered chest heaved for air. A few seconds later, she was calm.
Then her eyes opened, showing pure neon red-like her Overlord-no, her God-before her.
"I am ready, Overlord" she mused from her hoarse throat, "Give me the order to slay all who stand against your unfailing will."
Overlord only nodded, the grin of a mixed pervert and maniac showing his satisfaction at his creation.
Diana, with a flick of the head to the Reapers, then leaped out of the 52nd floor window with glass flying below her. A battle cry of death jumped from her mouth with these words:
"For the OVERLORD! For ELIMINATOR! DEATH TO HUMANKIND!"
Then she tensed and then shot downward like a bullet headfirst, drawing her power into the impact she would cause below as the Reapers above her echoed her cry, striking fear into the puny humans below.