Chapter 2
Venture into Darkness
Deans directs his attention back to the situation at hand.
"What do we do now sir?"
"We have a job to do, find out what happened to the other and search for survivors if possible let's keep moving."
Dean and his team continue deeper into the massive ship.
"I've pulled up the ships floor plan according to this we're near the main junction, the ships cross roads there we can access most of the levels since the power outage has most of the bulkheads closed."
"Hay isn't this ship equipped with an AI?"
"Yes it is, he one of the most advance ever made codename A.E.G.I.S."[Said Dean]
"The ships systems indicate the AI is offline, I can bring him back online, he might know what happened to the missing team." [Said Alpha]
"How far is the AI core?"
"Um… a few levels above us we'll have to use the main junction to get there but the bulkheads for the AI core are locked down how will we get in?"
"We'll figure it out when we get there."
As they come up on the main junction they all stand shocked at the grotesque sight of millions of corpses scattered about vast puddles of blood covering the floors on the bridge above blood and slime drips along towers of corruption.
"My god, the hell happened here?"
"I think "hell" is exactly what happened here." [Dean looks around]
"Spread out and secure the area and be careful these bastards are sneaky."
Looking around Dean comes to a duct curious he tries to open it.
"Ash, give me hand with this."
"Sir."
Both lift the panel a draft of foul air rushes out.
"Oh god that reeks."
"No kidding, there's something in there." [Gets down on a knee]
"Whoa you not gonna…"
Dean reaches down the vent sticking his arm in bloody corruption.
"And you do, god that's disgusting." [Coughs]
While Dean fumbles around the vent two others while searching the area they come across an undamaged bloodied body leaning against a pillar.
"Hay he looks not messed up."
They cautiously move closer to the body, after seconds of searching through the slimy contents of the vent he grabs hold of something that grabs his attention.
"I got something, feels like a hand."
He pulls his arm out of the vent along with a dismembered arm holding a knife.
"Huh… poor bastard to whoever that arm belongs to."
"He won't need this anymore." [As he takes the knife from the hand]
"Looks like he was part of the crew, "USM Talos - TerraGove Navy". [Reading the patch on the sleeve]
One of the other men attempts to tap the body on the shoulder with his rifle, at the moment of contact the body springs awake screaming manically and squirming trying to crawl away from the two.
"Hay we got a live one!" [Alpha Shouted]
"Hay calm down!"
"Get away from me, get away!"
Dean runs to him and holds the hysterical survivor on the ground and holds his hand over his mouth.
"Hay it's okay, calm down."
He stops squirming and hyperventilating, Dean takes his hand off his mouth.
"Now what's your name?"
"Vance, Vance Blake."
"Ok Vance listen I need you tell me what happened here."
"They… they came from the crew, there was shockwave and a high pitched noise in my head then the crew started going crazy and killing each other with whatever they can get their hands on then the bodies… the bodies started turning into monsters those things from the war I think they were called necromorphs."
"A shockwave?"
"Yes it was massive and powerful when it hit the power was knocked out for a few seconds and god that noise it was like a fucking banshee screaming in your ears."
"What happened next how did you survive for three months trapped on board with necros running around."
"Two months… the first month was fine nothing happened, that was when we dropped off the radar but the next month, that's when it went it happened and I spent that last two months avoiding them."
"Have you met any other survivors?"
"Maybe the ship is about 57,000 meters long a lot of places to hide but I haven't seen anyone else, but I did see a group of people they looked like you, military about four weeks ago I didn't follow them because I was busy being chased and running for my life, look we can't stay here a few hours ago I was being chased by a very big necro I had to hide under dead these corpses just to evade it."
Suddenly they ready weapons at the sound of a loud eerie roar coming from behind the pillar, Vance scurries behind the team.
"Oh shit, its back that's the noise it made!"
"Alpha, Tindall circle around, Chip, Rico you with me, Tyrell guard Vance."
Alpha and Tindall circle around the pillar to see mound of corpses and scions of corruption sticking out of it, as they get closer a massive necro erupts from the mound flinging corpses everywhere. The Necro looms over and roars at them it lifts its leg in attempt to crush Alpha and Tindall they both jump out of the way of the way and start shooting at the beast, a fierce fight takes place as Dean and his team fight to survive. After minutes of fighting it Dean shoots for the glowing flesh connecting its legs to it body, shrieking in pain it falls to the ground and revels a pulsating brain-like sac sprouting out of the top of its head, Dean runs and leaps up top and unloads his ammo into its exposed organ, enraged it grabs him and tosses him high in the air as he falls down the necro catches him with its long tongue and holds him up to its face with its bulging yellow eyes gazing at him. Dean takes the knife he obtained and repeatedly stabs its tongue, it releases him he grabs hold of it snout and blinds the necro one eye at a time by stabbing its multiple eyes.
"Yeah stab that ugly fucking!" [His team yells]
It grabs Dean and throws him to the floor and quickly pins him to the floor with its giant claw, it raises its other claw about to crush him when it's interrupted by Dean's team shooting at its brain making its claw release him he runs in between it legs for his rifle. While his teammates distract it he reaches it and readies his grenade launcher, after seconds of charging his rifle lets out a rapid beeping noise then Dean yells at the Necro and shoots at the back of its legs, it turns to him then charges at him whit great speed he aims for its head.
"Eat this you ugly bitch."
Dean pulls the trigger and the grenade fires out of its chamber; it flies right into the necro's mouth and down its throat. It stops in its tracks and stares at him then its whole upper body explode raining blood and guts everywhere, its lower half fumbles around in circles for a few seconds before it falls over motionless.
"Jesus Captain that was one hell of a fight."
"Yeah but don't take it too easy yet there bound to be a lot more."
Dean looks around.
"Where's Vance?"
"I'm here."
"Alright, Alpha you said the AI core is a few feet above us?"
"Yes sir, four bridges to be exact."
"Okay let move before something else shows up."
They take a lift to the fourth bridge and reach the level that contained the AI core they traversed a long hallway till they reached the bulkhead.
"There still power, good I can run a bypass give me a minute." [Said Alpha]
The bulkhead opens a moment later they quickly move inside and seal the door, lights turn on that illuminate a large white room with four cybernetic-like pillars in the center.
"Okay we'll be safe in here the floor plan shows there's no other way in this chamber but that bulkhead, no vents nothing to guard practically a safe room."
"Good we'll hold for a while here."
"I'll get to work on bringing Aegis back online."
Alpha walks up to a central pillar that rises from the floor and displays holograms that he interacts with. After almost twenty minutes Alpha manages to reactive the Aegis AI, the pillars begin glowing brighter and a hologram of a man appears.
"Aegis systems reactivated, warning AI mainframe corrupted, moderate damage to eternal systems."
The AI then looks at Dean and his team.
"Attention this area is restricted to all who do not possess level 7 clearance identify yourselves."
"I'm Captain Dean P Clarke TerraGove Special Forces Alpha Team RIG ID 753894823."
"Processing… ID authenticated you are granted high level access Captain Clarke."
"Report, tell me what happened here."
"Two months ago a lethal infection and infestation started to spread across the USM Talos, the crew began experiencing a sort of dementia that drove them to harm and kill each other it wasn't long before the dead crew underwent a sort of metamorphosis, extreme and unstable genetic alteration which turned them into highly aggressive creatures, history records indicates they are known as necromorphs."
"Aegis was there any research of any kind involving an artifact or object called a marker?"
"I've seen mention of this in a researcher's journal according to it there's a research sector of this ship that I had no knowledge of existing for my systems were not intergraded into that area thus I did not know what went in or on in that area, the fact that I was not extended in that area whatever they were doing it was highly classified."
"Do you know where this area is located?"
"I afraid I cannot say my memory banks were severely damaged with the power surge from the bizarre shockwave that spread throughout the ship seconds before the outbreak started."
Suddenly an alarm sounds off.
"Warning danger, emergency power supply nearly depleted power is less than 35%; attention life-support is being maintained by the emergency power, life-support will fail if an alternative power source is not found."
"Ah great, now we're in danger of suffocating to death."
"The power surge likely knocked disabled both of the ship's reactors they're shielded but they were not rated to withstand the magnitude of the surge, if you can reach the main reactors in engineering you should be able to restart them manually."
"Just like that manually?"
"Yes the shielding would have protected much of the reactors and there was no structural damage to them you should have no problem doing so except with the possibility of resistance."
"Alright looks like we got a serious problem to fix in little time let's move out."
"Sir yes sir." [All four]
"Vance you stay here with Aegis you'll be safe."
"Okay I'm no combatant anyway I'm helpful being out of the way." [Taking a seat on the floor]
"Have you shot a gun before?"
"Yeah."
"Okay take this just in case." [Hand him his pistol]
The bulkhead opens and they set out to the engineering levels to reactivate the main reactors.
"Okay Alpha what's the shortest route to the Engineering levels?"
"We take the lift all the way down to its lowest point and it should be straight forward form there."
"Good."
They take the lift down but before they can get to the lowest point the lift is stopped in in its tracks and goes up to the nearest floor.
"What the hell?"
"The lift is malfunction it won't work we're gonna have to go from here I'll plot a new route send it to our locators."
Unable to proceed they're forced to take an alternate route about a few moments pass by before they came to large area.
"Storage room, we cut across using the door on the far side…"
Alpha is stopped by seeing something with his peripheral vision move quickly in front of them; he readies his rifle and scans the room.
"What is it?"
"Where not alone in this room." [Whispers]
They all start hearing strange chirping noises in the store room they all cautiously search the room, Tyrell who wanders away from his team and he searches alone in the room's far corner, he comes to a dead-end as he's about to turn and regroup with his teammates he sees a man leaning against the wall coughing heavily.
"Hay sir are you alright?" [Seeing his RIG blinking red]
The man collapses to the floor with his hands covering his face.
"Hay what's wrong are you ok?" [As he gets closer]
Tyrell is struck with horror as the man looks up at him seeing maggot-like worms emerging from under his eyelids.
"Please… kill me." [Weakly]
Then his body begins to spaz violently Tyrell tries to help him when he suddenly grabs hold of his neck, he tries to force him to release him when the victim's mouth is ripped wide open with his jaw hanging below his head. Large worm-like proboscis with multiple yellow eyes slithers and emerges from the victim's throat before he scream for help the now victim turned necromorph lifts him bashes him against the wall then to the ground dazing him the, the necro drops to its knees, grabs Tyrell's head and the proboscis forces its way into his mouth he squirms and struggles, the parasite is interrupted when Dean shoots it in the back. It turns to him and the parasite retracts back inside the body and its head realigns itself staring at him with glowing yellow eyes. It starts charging after him, he shoots it again severing its left arm it then mutates sprouting spiked tentacles, it charges him again lashing them about like a whip. This time Dean empties his clip into it and it finally falls the parasite within tries to escape its host Dean pins it to the ground with his boot then he crushes it with the butt of his rifle making it spew slime out of its mouth. Seeing the rookie Tyrell motionless on the floor he runs over to him and tries to revive him, the rest of the team catches up with them.
"Where the hell were you guys?!"
"This damn place is like a maze and we met hostiles on the way, god what happened to him?"
"He wondered off on his own I found him on the floor with a necro on top of him it was… it was doing something to him."
"Kid hay come on wake up."
After a few seconds Tyrell gains consciousness he turns on his side coughing up blood and slime.
"There you go, you okay?"
"Yeah I'm alright I'm fine." [Gets up off the ground]
"Rookie, that was a very stupid thing to do what the hell were you thinking breaking off from the group."
"I'm sorry sir I wasn't thinking I thought I saw someone and…"
He raises his hand, he stops talking.
"Let this misadventure of yours be a lesion okay because these things want us to get separated so they can pick us off one guy at a time for now on nobody goes anywhere alone I don't care if your seven feet away from us no one goes alone, no come on were wasting time we gotta get those reactors back online."
Right when they're about to leave the store room all the exits seal themselves and gas quickly comes out of the vents flooding the room, whiten seconds they fall to the floor as if all their nerves stopped functioning all but Dean still remained conscious, one of the doors open and a few RIG suited figures enter the store room along with humanoid necromorphs looking down at him, a final figure enters the room and knees to Dean with the light of his yellow visor shining on his face then Dean finally drops unconscious.
"All too easy, you fell right for our trap and now your father will have no choice but to come for you he wouldn't dare leave his own son and daughter to die."