Chapter Eleven: Creation
While Leo and Aeris tried to relieve some measure of their suffering Rekaterin stood in his office making preparations for yet another pressing engagement.
A single guard stood in front of his desk. Its hands held behind its back, it addressed Rekaterin through its gasmask. The voice was clearly masculine but the speakers in the mask made it sound crackly and distorted. "Sir, I'm here to remind you that the inspection is going to arrive this week, at the earliest two cycles from now."
Rekaterin halted his preparations to look vehemently at the guard. "Do you believe that I am not fully aware of that Lieutenant? I've been thinking of little else recently."
The guard was impassive. "When the new test subjects arrived you left specific orders stating that you were to be given at least two cycles notice before the next inspection."
Suddenly Rekaterin smiled, the thought of his two new prizes instantly putting him in a much better mood. "So I did, Lieutenant, so I did. Very well-", he resumed his preparations, "-have their ship monitored closely. Under no circumstances are we to have any unexpectedly early arrivals. Is this clear to you Lieutenant?"
"Yes sir. Will there be anything else?"
Rekaterin waved his hand dismissively, long since bored by the conversation. "Have the new subjects moved to the hidden chamber exactly one hour before the Paloridian arrive. Do not disturb me further until then."
The guard saluted. "Yes sir, we'll have the scanners prepped immediately."
"Very good Lieutenant, you are dismissed."
"Sir." The guard saluted once more and marched purposefully from the room.
When he'd gone Rekaterin looked down at the desk and rubbed his hands together cheerfully. "Fifty hours is more than sufficient time. Now then, let's see what we have."
On the desk a number of objects had been laid down. It was mostly a mass of surgical equipment. Vials filled with a mixture of clear and colored fluids, several syringes, a stack of plain white cloth, and a small tranquilizer pistol complete with tranquilizer darts, were also included in his equipment.
Rekaterin looked at one particular vial with particular interest and affection. It was a special vial, filled with a special substance that he had only just developed. It was the key component that would finally make one of his greater endeavors possible, the acquisition of more power.
A self-satisfied smile stretched across his face. "Perfect."
Rekaterin gathered his equipment and placed it all in a large black surgeon's bag. Save the dart gun, which he loaded and placed in his pocket. Seizing the handle, he walked up to one of the bookshelves.
Another one of the secret doors folded out of the book shelves and Rekaterin strolled into the room it led to, the bag holding his equipment swinging in time with his step. The sight that greeted him drew an unpleasant smile to his lips.
There was a cold metal surgical table situated on top of a pedestal. Little else occupied the room. Strapped tightly to the table there was a body, and it was moving.
The body had dozens of needles shoved into its skull, arms, legs, and abdomen. Each needle connected by pipes to outlets at the base of the pedestal. The needles restricted movement, but whatever was on the table heard the sound of Rekaterin's footsteps. In perfect English it asked, "Who's there? Why are you here?"
Rekaterin progressed far enough into the room to stand at the foot of the table, where he could get a full view of its occupant.
Its body was many shades of blue and deep green. The colors were lightest on its stomach, nearly white, and grew progressively darker towards its back. It had two large crystal blue eyes that glowed in the light, the centers shining brightest.
Its build was very clearly masculine, by human standards, though it was entirely devoid of any immediately recognizable gender qualifiers.
It appeared to be designed for a vastly aquatic environment. It had gills and webbed hands and feet. It was apparently amphibious however, there wasn't a breathing apparatus attached to it anywhere. Its skin was glossy, hairless, and entirely smooth.
Rekaterin responded to the amphibians question in exasperation, dropping his shoulders and looking at the ceiling, "Why must they all ask me that same question? It should be obvious who I am." He put down his bag, continuing his speech. "I'm responsible for everything that goes on in here. I even make a point of personally meeting each new arrival. Is it honestly possible that I'm being so ambiguous when introducing myself that they don't even know who I am? Is that genuinely possible?"
The answer infuriated the unfortunate alien. His English was spoken clearly, but very formally. "If you are responsible for this then I demand that I be released. I am a full citizen of the Paloridian. You may check the public records. I was assigned the name Makani Ne'igalomeatiga. You are not permitted to do such things as this. This is kidnapping."
Rekaterin smiled at the name, he found its meaning amusing. "Oh yes, the Paloridian does have quite the affinity for giving your kind such charming names. Frankly, I don't know why you choose to come here. They hate you so much."
The alien struggled to hold his composure. "What have you done to me?'
Rekaterin stalked the length of the table, running his hand over the line of the incision that the surgeons had left from a visit he had ordered several hours previously as he did.
As he swept his hand away off Makani, Rekaterin finally responded to the question. "Believe me, you'll see soon enough-" He turned his back away and walked over to a lever that jutted from the wall just above head level. He added, "-you'll feel it too."
All the calm drained from Makani's voice. He forced his next question through a panic. "Feel what? What are you going to do to me?"
Rekaterin ignored his question. "You know, there's something to be said for a lever, it's just so much more⦠dramatic."
The panic was barely restrained, Makani was nearly screaming now. "What are you saying-", he struggled against his bonds, "-are you insane?"
Rekaterin smiled mirthlessly, only a cruel humor was displayed. "Oh, I wouldn't say insane. But the point is moot." He pressed his palm against the lever and one by one coiled his fingers around the handle. Rekaterin's voice shuddered with unrestrained pleasure. "Oh this is going to be fun."
He threw down his shoulder and yanked the leaver down.
The screams were unearthly, like nothing the human imagination could conjure outside of its deepest nightmares. Every part of Makani's body writhed horribly in sheer unimaginable pain, arching, twisting, and warping in ways the human body never could. The screams ended only when a membrane of skin formed over Makani's open mouth, nearly cutting off the sounds, but not quite. The pain continued unabated.
The space around the incision line began to bulge. Inside of Makani there was something moving, and it was trying to get out. But Makani's stomach wouldn't give, so it began to move up, straight through his body.
Now the muffled screams changed, even through the skin, they could almost be heard clearly again.
The shape had reached Makani's throat now, but it was too small around, so the shape writhed and wormed its way up, trying to force its way through.
The screams began to die, replaced by the sound of tearing flesh.
Rekaterin moved in. "Yes, yes my beautiful one, it's time to come out now. It's time to see the world I built for you." A scalpel was poised in his fingers ready for use. He applied to the membrane of skin that had formed over Makani's mouth and sliced it open.
Goaded by the fresh opening the shape moved even faster. But there was still no room.
Two white curved claws pierced what remained of the skin. They clamped onto either jaw and began forcing the two halves apart. Makani's final most terrible scream was ended as the creature literally tore his head in half.
From the ruined body emerged a slime covered abomination. A white skinned horror made of nothing but skin, bone, teeth and claws. As it ripped its way out it hauled Makani's innards behind it.
Rekaterin had first moved in to enjoy watching Makani die up close. But now he leapt back to avoid getting blood on himself. His heart was racing. He inched forward, addressing the creature. "Well done my little one-", he reached forward, "-the next step is finished."
The monster yanked its eyes towards the oncoming hand.
Its head was the shaped like a diamond, except curved at the face. Its eyes were huge, almond shaped, a solid yellow color. It did not appear to have a mouth.
Now that it was facing him, Rekaterin saw the only imperfection in its otherwise flawlessly white skin. A black diamond covered its face, stretching from its pointed chin to the back of its head. The whiteness still showed at the sides of its face.
Its body was sleek, wiry, and smooth. It measured about a meter in length from head to tail. Its hind limbs were long and gangly, jointed back. Its forelimbs were longer than its hind ones and were double jointed at the shoulders, giving it human like arms that stuck out left and right.
Each limb ended with a dexterous four fingered hand. Each finger was tipped by wickedly curved two inch claws, which gleamed in a strangely metallic way. The thing was covered in muscle everywhere, from its narrow neck to its tail.
After looking into the creatures eyes, Rekaterin withdrew his hand. The look it was giving him was far from friendly. In fact, it looked hungry.
Rekaterin took a step back and the creature turned back towards the body it had just vacated.
It opened its mouth. The bottom half of its face split in half and stretched out to the sides. From the edges, eight fangs unfolded, four for each side. In the center of its mouth a set of teeth circled around its gullet, meshing together to cover it.
Saliva was dripping from its mouth now. This too was dangerous. Rekaterin had designed the creature's saliva glands to produce venom of equal potency to that utilized in its fangs. If the saliva were to somehow enter the bodies system, the danger would be presented would be near the equivalent to having been bitten.
After looking at Makani's dead body for a few moments, the creature began systematically slicing off pieces of flesh. It brought the food up to its inner teeth, which opened up to snatch the food away, drawing each piece down into its throat.
Now that Rekaterin was no longer the creature's main focus, he slowly withdrew the dart gun from his pocket. All that was required was to hit it once. Each dart contained more than enough sedative to incapacitate it. The only problem would be hitting it.
If the creature was made aware that he was a threat, Rekaterin would fare no better than Makani had. Bitten or mutilated, he was sure his end would be both long and excruciating. Luckily for him, he would be avoiding all of this with his first shot.
In his right hand, he raised the pistol and took aim. The creature remained consumed in its meal. Rekaterin smiled. Now he would have something to show the Paloridian when they arrived, a new weapon he was certain would gain him great favor.
Rekaterin lifted his thumb and clicked the safety off.
The creatures head snapped up. Rekaterin fired. The creature flew off the body like lightning, leaping onto one of the walls across from the table. The dart hadn't even come close.
The creatures claws sank into the metal like it was little more than soft wood. It shot up the walls.
It was on the ceiling now.
Meanwhile, Rekaterin tried to shoot the monster as it ripped back and forth on the ceiling, avoiding each shot. Soon it was directly above him.
Using its hind legs, it hurled itself downward towards Rekaterin's head.
Rekaterin began to step back, but was too late. The creature landed on his thigh.
Before he could shoot it, its mouth snapped open and it sank all eight fangs into his thigh, injecting its venom.
But before it could do anything further, Rekaterin shot it three times in the head, emptying the last of the clip.
As the action locked back, signaling that Rekaterin was out of ammunition, the creature rolled off his thigh and onto its back, unconscious. But for Rekaterin it was too late. With the amount of poison he had just received, the symptoms would manifest in moments.
He had only one hope, the vial resting in the surgeon's case. Inside that was what he had been developing for months now, an antidote to the venom now coursing through his veins.
He rushed over to the bag and kneeled down. His hands were starting to shake and he had difficulty opening the bag, already he was beginning to lose motor control. If he didn't hurry total paralysis would set in and he wouldn't even be able to administer the antidote. Breathing raggedly, he cursed as he fumbled with the case.
Finally, it opened.
Rekaterin emptied its contents onto the floor and watched them spilling everywhere, seeking out the vial that represented his salvation.
At last he found it. Snatching it up, he now grabbed from the floor a syringe. He knew how much venom he'd received and he knew the ratio necessary to counteract the venom. Use too much and he would die, use too little and the venom would kill him anyway.
He went through the numbers in his mind, caught between his panicked rush and fear of a lethal miscalculation. Doubt clouded his mind. Almost from the moment he'd been bitten, he'd begun to feel a sense of complete impending doom. It was crushing and terrifying. It hung over him like an unimaginable weight, strangling him. He knew that this was only one of the initial symptoms of the venom, but that awareness did not make the feeling any less real.
He forced himself to work through the panic and, finally, he was sure he had the right number.
By now Rekaterin's hands were shaking so violently that the when he missed the vials stopper with the syringe, he nearly dropped the vial. But by clutching his arms to his chest, he succeeded in penetrating the vial and withdrawing the appropriate dose. He took the syringe and rammed the it into his thigh.
Now, he waited.
His heart was hammering painfully in his chest.
There were more symptoms, he only had so long before they came. If his condition progressed far enough and the symptoms didn't show signs of leaving quickly, then he was going to die.
The minutes crawled, each moment an eon as he waited.
He'd lain down, but could no longer move. The paralysis had almost set in completely now. Breathing became difficult.
Twenty minutes passed and still he felt the changes happening in his body.
A burning pain welled up inside him. Dread followed as Rekaterin realized he was going to die. The venom had done its work. If the venom had worked this far into his system then he'd given himself the wrong dose.
The pain rapidly became unbearable and now Rekaterin screamed just as Makani had. In what he knew to be his final moments he cursed the universe and how unjustly it had cheated him, ending his life before he could achieve greater echelons of power. He screamed out his hatred into the emptiness of the room, the sound falling on the ears of no one.
But as if in answer to his protests, Rekaterin suddenly began to feel his looming death drifting away. In moments, the sense of doom was gone. The antidote had worked!
It was only a few more minutes before Rekaterin felt completely normal. As if the incident had never happened at all.
Rekaterin was finished wallowing in his unfounded despair. Surrounded by his surgical equipment, he sat up. Picking himself up off the ground he brushed himself off and gathered up his scattered tools. Standing on still shaky legs, he walked over to the now slumbering creature.
Picking it up by its neck, Rekaterin lifted the monster he'd created and threw it against the nearest wall. It slid limply to the floor, but remained unconscious
Rekaterin looked down on its body spitefully. "You stupid creature. You should know better than to attack your master." He walked up to the wall and was tempted to kick the sleeping beast, but thought better of it. If he was to exhibit this to the Paloridian he didn't want to risk any more damage than had no less than a moment ago.
So instead he picked it up once more, this time cradling it delicately in his arms. Looking down at it resting there, he felt his pride returning. This thing he'd created, it was barely old enough to be called a newborn and yet it had nearly killed him. He could only imagine how lethal it would become once it reached full maturity.
He smiled at the thought of entire settlements fleeing, terrified, from a nightmare of his creation.
Rekaterin was not concerned with it waking. There was enough sedative running through it to keep it asleep for an entire cycle. Even if it did wake up, with the chemicals still present in its system, it would remain near sedentary for several more hours.
Before he left the room, Rekaterin stopped next to what remained of Makani's body and smiled. "How funny it is that you, having been wrongfully thought of as a monster ever since you came into the dominion of the Paloridian, would serve as the vessel to deliver one into the world yourself." He smirked at the thought. "They consider you to be worse than a demon, but you're not even close."
Rekaterin turned away from Makani and walked out of the room.
Once he put his creation in its pen he had something else to he wanted return to. It was high time that he revisited his new favorites in the simulator.
A/N: My my, nearly two weeks and this is the result.
It seems that we have some new pieces in our game, doesn't it. I hope you're all excited for what's coming up next.
Truthfully, I nearly have the next chapter finished already, you can expect it by next Monday.
As per usual, feel free to review. I do so love reading them. Perhaps more will encourage me to write faster, who knows
