NIGHT VISION

Chapter 8: Transcendence


Ashley knew there was something wrong before she even stepped off the elevator.

The room reeked of rust, engine oil and smoke. In one corner of the tri-angular grid was a gaping hole where the grate had fallen away in a steel-clad pit. Ashley was last to exit the lift right behind Shannon; Sven bolted across the platform, his weight sending vibrations through the metallic floor. "Amy!" He exclaimed, kneeling beside her. "Amy, are you OK?"

She stared up at him blankly. "I… Sven…" Her hazel gaze was detached and distraught, distant and void of thought. She did, however, manage a small smile. "I don't remember how I got here."

"Must've hit her head on something," Corey figured, "Don't you worry Amy. We're going to get you out of here."

Ashley gripped her head, hissing about the acute pain as the massive spore count drew close. It filled the room with an eerily menacing presence.

"Ashley," Shannon touched her arm, "What's wrong?"

"He's here," she uttered, the ache suddenly easing away from her. No sooner had she replied did Kenny drop from the ceiling and land with a hollowed thud. The group faced him in synch; Ashley took three paces forward to poise herself beside Shannon.

"Shannon," Kenny snarled, "come into my arms so I can tear you apart."

Shannon's eyebrow peaked. "I'd rather not, thanks…"

The exit door screeched open. "Guys, this way!" Professor James appeared in the threshold, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder to the corridor behind him.

Kenny grinned. "Go on now. And make sure you check on the blonde, I wasn't too gentle with her…"

Sven lifted Amy into his arms bridal-style. "What the hell did you do to her?!" Kenny's sadistic grin only grew wider. Sven briskly left with Stan in tow, shouting as he left, "Someone blow his freaking head off before I do it myself!"

"You can count on that," Ashley promised with a click of her rifle.

Kenny seemed relatively amused by Ashley's scowl. "You were always so cute when you glared at me, you know."

"Put a cork in it before I unload my barrel into your face!"

Mei took Corey's hand, making an attempt to pull him away. He withdrew. "No, you go on Mei. I'm going to stick around and see how this bastard likes the taste of my shot gun."

Her brow furrowed. "Then I'm staying too."

Professor James had an arrow pouch on him. "Mei, here! I picked this up!" He tossed a crossbow and bag over to her before slamming the door closed, sealing them away to their fates against the beast.

Kenny catapulted to the first of the three corners, growling ferociously. "And now that you guys are situated, let's get this party started!" He moved first, launching a barrage of spore spheres in their direction. They scattered to dodge the attack.

Mei ducked behind a crate, loading her crossbow. Gun shots reverberated off the walls, masking the abrupt cries of Shannon getting nailed in the back by orbs of aura. Ashley grabbed her by the elbow and towed her out from her cover behind the wooden box just as Kenny smashed through it; Mei aimed from over her knee and pulled the trigger. The arrow drilled into Kenny's shoulder, piercing layers of overlapping muscle.

He roared in sheer pain as heat spread across his body.

Corey glanced up at the boat motor suspended from the ceiling. He recognized the model as something his father had worked on once – if they could break off the propeller the body would become like a massive weapon.

He grabbed dizzy Shannon by her forearm and towed her over to the closest suspension panel next to Kenny. They spun the dual wheels to the right off what could have been classified as instinct. Kenny slumped over to catch his breath, willing himself to endure the sharp sensation beside his neck.

Suddenly he was able to regain his senses when the metallic grinding echoed from up above. The motor dropped down on its release, smashing him into the floor with such force its bladed cap popped right off like a cork. He didn't register the pain as well as he could have which only helped him get right back up onto his feet. The chain reeled back into position, dragging the damaged propeller up with it.

"Why didn't you help me little sister?" Kenny whined, propping himself upright.

Shannon aimed her Desert Eagle at him. "But I am helping you… I'm helping you die!"

He flung himself to the second corner only to get his hip impaled with another crossbow arrow. Honestly, the bullets were ripping parts of his flesh off like a piñata but they didn't have as much effect as that crossbow. The power in those shots was shredding through him like meat in a blender.

Ashley sniped his abdomen twice before ducking behind a crate to reload.

He took the opportunity to bolt over to Mei and grapple her by the waist. She yelped in genuine surprise rather than candid fear. Corey's shot gun shells pierced Kenny's thick hide. "PUT HER DOWN!" He snapped, firing again.

Kenny's lips twisted into a crooked grin. "Gladly." He tossed her over his shoulder like a ragdoll – right into the open pit in the third corner of the room.

Corey froze. "You… son of a bitch!" He charged forward and slid under Kenny's swing, firing his now much more effective weapon into Kenny's center fold. The thin skin held strong despite the damage but he still reeled away screeching.

Kenny recovered a moment later, slamming his hand down onto Corey and pinning the boy to the floor. Shannon unloaded her clip into her brother's back but was grabbed as well, his grip crushing her between the grate and his own mass.

Ashley emerged from the crate, jabbing his torn chest with two shots.

His characteristic bemused grin returned. "Poor Ashley… losing friend after friend to the wonders of the spores. Must be like a never ending nightmare. You want to wake up and hope that this was all just a bad dream… that Josh will be alive with a bright smile and we're all still one"—he pressed down on her friends and they gasped—"big"—he leaned his weight into Corey who's stronger bones didn't crack under the pressure—"happy"—then he crushed in Shannon who cried out when one of her ribs fractured under the force—"family."

Shannon choked on her own breaths. "Y-You're still my family Kenny…"

He hesitated. "Ha, how naïve. We are no longer family Shannon, the same blood doesn't run through our veins anymore. I have opened my eyes… and you should too."

Shannon shook her head weakly. "No, Kenny, you're still my… big brother."

Ashley fired again, the bullet skimming the monster's cheek. "Don't reason with him, Shannon. His skull's too thick to comprehend." Kenny shifted his weight into the duo below him with all the intentions of collapsing their framework like a fragile structure. Ashley could practically hear the bones splintering in Shannon's chest over her agonizing cries. "STOP!"

He chortled. "Don't think I will."

"KENNY!" She hit him with another bullet. Just shoot him in the head. Shoot him Ashley, shoot him! Shoot him! They'll die if you don't! SHOOT HIM!

KILL HIM!

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

Josh slammed into Kenny's side like a rampaging bull, crashing both of them into the wall. He was definitely different – his arms were altered, long, and heavy set, muscular and detailed with indigo veins. His limbs from the shoulder down were formed to look almost like Kenny's, only smaller to suit Josh's still human body, and his fingers were outlined in a boney exoskeleton like armor to form claws.

The force in this alteration was enough to send Kenny for a loop.

Josh grappled Kenny's leg and spun, chucking the creature across the room with nothing more than a grunt. His muscles clearly rippled beneath his shirt; his bones shifted at angles to allow him to move more like a quadruped animal than a bipedal person.

"Josh!" Corey exclaimed, "You're OK!"

He ignored her and fell forward onto his extended arms, snarling at Kenny who was propping himself into an upright position. "Well, well," Kenny mused, slamming a fist into the floor, "Seems Joshy-boy is finally giving into the spores. Let it consume you! Do you feel the power surging through your veins?"

Josh's claws clicked against the tattered tile. "I didn't give in to it, Kenny, I didn't let the power consume me! Unlike you, I merely embraced it! I LET IT BECOME A PART OF ME!"

Kenny lunged, wrapping massive fingers around Josh's abdomen. He crashed the other boy into the floor once – twice – a third time and followed through with a severe pummeling, impacting his weighty hands into Josh's chest. Corey aimed the shot gun and fired, nailing Kenny in the shoulder. Josh, dazed, seized the distraction and kicked Kenny in the face, breaking his jaw. The monster reeled back with a growl, allowing Josh to regain his footing.

Ashley was numb – Josh… he had given into the spores… back in the hospital and… but he…

He glanced at her, cerulean gaze as blue as ever. "I'm a little busy right now, Ash, but we can talk about this later, OK?"

He had kept his promises; he caught up with them and came back to protect her… (although he was no longer 100 percent human, not that anyone was complaining…)

Josh slashed Kenny's chest, slicing through layers of flesh and muscle like a hot knife through butter. He leapt up to the support beam above when Kenny swung, shuffling across to latch onto the propeller. "Gotta do better than that!"

He dropped down, nailing Kenny with a punch. Kenny countered with instinct – he grabbed his ex-friend by the neck, lifting him high into the air. "You're on my last nerve! Go rot with the girl!"

Josh was thrown towards the gaping hole in the floor – his forehead collided with the edge of the pit and he tumbled into the darkness below.

Something in Ashley's mind snapped.

She was overwhelmed with a surge of cruel, heartless emotions and aimed her rifle for Kenny's skull as he catapulted to another corner of the room. "Hey, Kenny!" He caught her agitated glare just as she – without aiming – pointed the gun up at the propeller suspended overhead and fired. The bullet pierced the sensitive chain and snapped it like thin plastic.

Kenny barely had time to realize what she had hit when the needle-edged component crashed down on him. The exposed end speared into his back and pinned him to the grate; he screamed in anguish, glancing at his little sister for help.

He reached out to her, "Sh-Shannon…"

She raised her hand towards him as well, brushing her finger tips against his own deformed skin; her expression was sympathetic and maybe even a little settled.

I'm so sorry…

The grate collapsed and he toppled into the pit below, his disfigured form and the propeller getting swallowed whole by the darkness. Metallic grinding reverberated off the circular walls. Then, everything was thrown into a halcyon stillness.

Corey was already across the room at the other opening in the floor. "MEI! JOSH! Can you hear me?!"

After a moment's hesitation a female voice echoed out from the blackness, "Hey! I'm fine! Josh is unconscious and really funny-looking, but he's alright too!"

Corey exhaled in relief, peering over his shoulder when Ashley approached. She leaned over. "How are you holding up down there?"

"Well… I'll live!"

Ashley's lips pressed into a thin line. "Listen, we need to catch up with the others. When Josh wakes up he'll get you out. You can tag after us."

Corey quirked an eyebrow at her statement. "I'm not leaving my girlfriend in a pit."

"She has a radio. If she really needs help she'll use it, but until then we have to make sure the others didn't get hurt." Now that I mention it… Ashley trekked over to Shannon who was massaging her chest. "Want me to heal that?"

Shannon touched the slick blood on the floor. "I… I can't believe he chose to become that thing."

"Not everyone is strong, Shannon," Ashley told her gently, "In fact, sometimes their strength comes from relying the people who are tough. Don't forget, Kenny had been infected longest. His willpower was strong, just not enough to save him from himself."

Shannon wagged her head. "He could have made it… he… Oh, forgive me, Kenny…"

Ashley kneeled down to her height and exhaled, sending a stream of spores into Shannon's mouth. "Let those kick in."

She got up to move off when Shannon managed to speak again. "Ashley… will you be okay?"

A moment passed by them, filled with only Corey's anxious comments to Mei below. Ashley finally scoffed, her tone turning bitter to compliment her scowl, "I'll be as okay as I can get, you know, given that I'm a freak of nature, my best friend is in even worse condition and I just killed my ex-boyfriend with a giant boat propeller. Think that's one for the record books?"

Shannon leaned against her side. "It's OK… we'll get through this together."

I know. Ashley allowed a faint smile to return to her face. We've done it once before… and Josh… he kept his promise again. He'll protect us. I'll protect us. We'll all be alright in the end.

"Yeah, together. That sounds nice."


Josh was stirred into consciousness when someone called out his name.

At first he couldn't make out the tone of the voice – the pitch was loud, probably close. It could have been Ashley. He hoped it was Ashley… Several moments later he realized he was bent at an awkward angle on a pile of rubble. Above him artificial light filtered into the opening and illuminated the blackness around him, scaring away the shadows and his worries.

For once the brightness didn't seem to bother his eyes.

A pair of dark orbs hovered over him, draping the person's face in a curtain of midnight blue hair. "Josh! Are you alright?"

He shifted uncomfortably, forcing his arm out from under his hip. "Ow…"

"Yeah, I'm stiff myself. Kenny tossed me like a sand bag… Glad you fell in too, I don't have anything on me but a crossbow." She held it up, flushing. "I'm surprised it survived the fall…"

Josh let her help him sit up and she perched on the edge of the pile with him, heads bowed in defeat. He glanced up to examine the drop. "I don't think I have enough energy to get us back up there. We'll have to go around."

"Or wait for you to get enough energy back." Mei stared at him for a second, contemplating his words. "Wait, you can get us up?"

He held out his arms but they were normal again – no claws or creepy purple veins. "I can once I get my energy back. Trust me, I'll get us out and we'll meet up with our group."

"They're moving on without us, but I told them we'd catch up." Mei shrugged impassively. "They just left so they're not far. Just relax, OK?"

He checked his watch which was now residing in his pocket. The screen lit up with the time and date – "We've only been down here for twenty minutes." His gaze scanned the darkness; Mei might not have been able to see what he could. The area was a single room, lined with pipes and debris. The door across the room was hidden beneath tons of concrete and tile. "Yeah, we're stuck in here. Only way out is up."

Mei leaned against him, massaging her skin as it prickled against the cold. "It's chilly down here. You know, everyone seems to be going crazy and turning into rampaging monstrous freaks of nature… I hope that doesn't happen to me, or Corey, or any one of our friends for that matter. I'm worried about what could happen to them."

Josh pat her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll get us out of here…"

I just hope everyone's still alive when we do.