Mutatis Mutandis 25
The gate to Murder Pass was in worse shape than the entrance gate. A charging rhinoceros could not have done a better job of bringing it to ruination. The gaping tunnels beyond were pitch black, echoing with the strange pattering noise that Jason had been pursuing since he had first entered Little Lamplight.
Aware that the creatures he had encountered before were probably only the tip of the iceberg, Jason moved forward with extra caution. He had long since memorized the layout of Murder Pass. The cave system lying between Little Lamplight and the Supermutants' home was an enormous three dimensional maze of dead-ends, cave-ins, long drops, and primitive wooden bridges. Not an ideal place for fighting. The average adventurer was more likely to be chased down like a rodent until the mutants finally cornered and slaughtered him. Thankfully, Jason was anything but average, and he had negotiated the treacherous path many times before.
The pattering noise increased the further he moved into the maze. It had started as a background noise, but it very quickly progressed to the point at which he could hear it all around him, as if it were in the very walls themselves.
And it was following him, building momentum as it went.
He reached the rope bridge after two and a half agonizing minutes of looking over his own shoulder. Unlike Little Lamplight, Murder Pass was for the most part without the benefit of the glowing fungus. Jason was forced to navigate by memory for the most part. He reached a rope bridge strung across a wide gap in the tunnel. It was the same bridge he had crossed a hundred times before. Below was a darkened pit, but he didn't dare turn on his Pipboy light; staying hidden was key to survival.
Stepping carefully, he made his way across, coming to a halt whenever the creaking of the ancient slats grew too loud. The pattering noise grew to a crescendo as he passed over the pit. He glanced down between the slats and witnessed the way the floor seemed to curl, slither and sway in the darkness, as if it were itself alive.
The pattering noise grew louder the further he proceeded across the bridge and down the tunnel. Suddenly it stopped, leaving only that strange white noise which all caverns shared. Off in the distance, drops of water fell slowly into an unseen pool. Jason stopped as well, listening closely to the darkness. He could hear something. A faint noise. Air. Breathing, less than ten feet ahead of him. The cave ahead was pitch black. Yet somehow, outlined more by his imagination and that primal sixth sense he had spent years honing and fine-tuning than by actual sight, he could sense a shape in the emptiness. Gingerly, Jason crouched and shouldered his Perforator. Trusting the weapon's suppressor to hide him, just as he had so many times before, he fired two probing shots into the impenetrable darkness. One pinged off a distant rock in the tunnel's wall. The other hit something fleshy. Leathery.
A low, dangerous growl echoed along the narrow corridor. It was an unsettlingly deep rolling noise. Then, to his astonished bewilderment, the darkness fired back. Not a bullet, but a clod of foul scum. The projectile arced through the air and hit him in the shoulder. It immediately began to froth and smoke, eating its way through his duster and burning his skin where it seeped through to make contact. He heard his Geiger counter begin to tick rapidly, but Jason was far more concerned with the startling pain which made him cry out.
His position compromised anyway, he fought for control and lifted his smoldering arm, flicking on his Pipboy light.
A monstrosity the likes of which he had never seen before skittered out of the darkness. A sense of horror gripped him as he realized where the sound of dozens of pattering feet had come from. The creature stood nearly four and a half feet in height. It was vaguely humanoid, and colored in light browns. At least, its upper body was. It had a bulging, misshapen human torso and a human head, the drooping, malformed face caught in a rictus of agony.
Below the waist, however, everything human about the creature vanished. While retaining human skin tones, its body shape was far more similar to that of a centipede. Dozens of thick arms jutted out both sides of a low set, densely-packed slab of flesh, rippling with muscle. Each leg ended in a stubby human hand, gripping the stone floor with broken, dirty fingernails. As he watched, the creature's chest warped and winnowed, rippling as its mouth gaped open, far wider than any human being could ever hope to match. From deep within its throat, out slithered three long slimy tentacles, reaching for him.
It skittered forward gibbering, gurgling, gagging and slobbering as those tendrils waved ahead of it; the disgusting feelers of a car-sized insect from a nightmare realm somewhere far beyond Jason's worst fears and most pessimistic expectations
Devoid of all feelings save for horror and disgust, Jason emptied the rest of his clip into the creature, taking pleasure in the bloody string of craters the action left in its leathery skin. The thing responded in kind, its tentacles curling away from their center like a tortured flower in bloom. A fourth, shorter tentacle emerged, an orifice at the tip opening and closing, puckering up with a disgusting slurping noise. It jerked for a moment, and spat another gob of the foul goo at him.
Jason side-stepped the horrific projectile and heard it impact something other than stone. He snapped around, his meager light revealing two more of the repulsive creatures sneaking up from behind. More were pouring over the edge of the pit, scampering over the rope bridge. One of them had halted, screeching as it was temporarily paralyzed by the pain of its brother's projectile. Pattering feet approached at high speed. Jason dodged left and rolled as the first creature scampered along the wall towards him. he bolted past it, the feelers narrowly missing his head.
As he moved it chased him, arching over the ceiling and back down the other side, those tentacles still feeling their way along. He ran down the passage as fast as his legs could carry him, all stealth forgotten in the threat of this new horror.
The pattering followed, and he fired blindly behind him as he ran through the tunnels. Every new bullet struck with the same leathery noise as the last; the creatures were crawling all over the tunnel behind him, washing forward in a great churning wave of mutant flesh. They were winding along the floor, hanging from the walls and slithering along the ceiling, the fingers on each of their dozens of hands finding purchase on the rough stone and digging in.
Gobs of corrosive phlegm hit the walls and floor ahead of him, droplets spattering across his duster, slowly burning it to pieces. A small amount hit the back of his knee, forcing him to limp, but he fought onwards. The creatures were well muscled, and merciless. If he stopped, he wasn't sure how much damage they would cause him. How long the delay would be. Perhaps it would be too much for his little perk to handle, and he would actually die. On top of that, the creatures were just damned terrifying and he did not want to be anywhere near them.
The tunnel began to branch off left and right, and Jason came to the sudden realization that in the rush, he may have missed his turn. He had no idea where this current path would lead, only that the path behind him was shut. He turned a corner at random and the floor opened up, spilling him down a steep slope. His feet slipped out from under him, sending him rolling uncontrollably. The cave blurred around him as he rolled, the world forming into a directionless gray morass. Jason was only aware of the pain of every bump, some of them large enough to send him airborne for a short time. It was all he could do to keep his weapons with him. Somewhere along the line, an underground stream had joined with his chute, the water droplets flying and splashing around him as he fell. Jason tried desperately to get a grip on something solid, but it was all far too wet. There was the sound of rushing water and he sensed a final change in the slope's gradient. The steeper angle sent him speeding up before flying off an edge of some sort, following the water droplets.
Jason landed in a crumpled heap, finally coming to a standstill on the floor of an enormous underground culvert He lay there for a little while, letting the pain fade. He was lying face down in a pool of water. It was barely an inch deep, but it was freezing cold, and he shivered, feeling it soak through his clothes. Jason groaned and rolled over onto his back, feeling for his weapons. His sawed-off was missing, as was the sniper rifle. However he still had the Xuanlong, his Perforator, and his combat knife. He sat up, taking stock. A few of his supplies were missing, two stim-packs had been smashed, and a sack of rad-away had broken open during the fall, the thick liquid was spread all over his right leg. The wound on his shoulder where the swooping little demon had bitten in was itching madly, but this was a normal sensation for him. it was a byproduct of the rapid healing. As a matter of fact, most of his body was undergoing the same process as it recovered from both the acid burns and the long fall. He sat patiently waiting for it to heal, listening as the gentle ticking of his Geiger counter echoed off of the cavern walls. He watched the faint green light reflecting off of the pools of water, throwing waving lines across the ceiling.
He frowned. There was no fungus around. No light source for the water to reflect from. So where was it coming from? Groaning, he rose to his feet and took a proper look around. The chamber was enormous, nearly as large in diameter as Megaton's crater, though the ceiling was only about twenty feet high. Naturally formed pillars and stone columns dotted the chamber where descending stalactites had met the stalagmites growing from the cavern floor. Water trickled down into the pool from a large opening about fifteen feet above his head. The same chute he himself had fallen out of, Jason decided. He took a step towards the edge of the pool and frowned, watching glowing green ripples spread from the toe of his combat boot. He took a few mores steps forward until he reached the edge of the pool. Then he turned and bent down to give the liquid a proper examination. The water… it was glowing slightly, throwing that faint green light across the cavern walls. It was not the water itself which was glowing, but rather the thin chemical film floating on top. The chemical was a foul and oily substance which stained his fingers.
A few pebbles tumbled from another nearby chute, followed by a familiar and unwelcome gibbering noise. A few seconds later one of the creatures which had accosted him in the tunnels above came flying out. Possessing as much control over its trajectory as he had, it landed on a particularly sharp stalagmite. It lay there, impaled on the cold stone, twitched wildly. The creature's horrific tongue rippled out towards him, but it was too far away to reach its target. He watched it struggle and suffer for a few seconds –long enough to insure that it wasn't going to be a problem- then went back to staring at the water.
The FEV virus, he could only assume. Probably the FEV II. That meant the mutants had been putting it in the water supply. They'd poisoned the entire section of the wasteland. Who knew how far the corruption had spread. All of these strange new creatures were the direct result. Had the children drunk it? Had they been changed? Were they perhaps the swooping demons? He hadn't recognized any of them, but he had not really been looking either. And what on earth had made those centipede creatures?
No wonder Narg had come all the way out east to deal with this. Where had they acquired something so potently dangerous? The idea of a mutant scientist coming up with something like this was laughable, but so were many other things Jason had thought about muties, and many of those had been proven horribly wrong recently.
Somewhere in the darkness, pebbles ground against the cavern floor. Darkness swallowed Jason, and he sank into the shadows, watching closely.
A figure stepped into view, emerging from the darkness. It was humanoid at least, colored in deep greens and browns. The crown of its skull had the same horns as the swooping creatures in Lamplight caverns, but it was otherwise human. Jason could make out the flash of glowing green eyes, matching the light of the water. he raised his rifle, intending to get a better look through the scope. Immediately, the creature's gaze snapped over to search the darkness for him. Jason froze, keeping still as a statue, even as the creature took a few steps in his direction, its eyes searching every crack and crevice. Its gaze passed over him, lingering on him for a heart-stopping moment. Then, satisfied that it was alone, it moved off towards the pool, passing behind a stone pillar… And it failed to reappear on the other side. Jason frowned and rose, repositioning to get a different angle. He searched the pool's area, listening carefully to the sounds beyond the cave's tiny echoing waterfall. The creature was nowhere to be seen, nor heard, and he took a few quiet steps forward, searching further still.
Without warning, a pair of green eyes opened less than two feet to his left. Jason reacted on instinct, his left hand thrusting out with his combat knife, aimed straight at its throat. The thing slapped his first strike aside with a forceful block that sent Jason's knife skittering into the darkness. It followed up immediately, its left hand closing around the barrel of the Perforator even as its knee came up between his legs. Blinding pain paralyzed Jason, making his knees weaken and give even as both of his hands shot downwards reflexively. He shut his eyes, his mouth hanging open as he let out a sharp gasp.
The thing's knee came up yet again to greet his chin, and the blow spilled him like a ragdoll onto the cave floor. The thing stepped daintily around his prone form, growling triumphantly as it went. It waited patiently for him to recover somewhat from the mind-bending pain, carefully handling the Perforator.
Jason took a few deep breaths and glared up defiantly at his assailant, hating it for taking him by surprise. The thing was lanky and thin, though its knotted muscles were far too well developed to be trifled with, as the Wanderer had just discovered. It was nude, and …male. Jason's eyes widened as he realized he was staring at the next generation of mutant. The FEV II strain abomination. A male supermutant. Narg had been right: they were breeding down here!
The creature smiled down at him. It took the Perforator in both hands, one on the trigger mechanism, the other on the barrel, and twisted. Wood cracked and splintered. Jason gritted his teeth as the barrel twisted and snapped. Next came the bolt mechanism. Metal crumpled and withered under the abomination's patient ministrations. All the while it kept its eyes locked on his, watching his reactions as it destroyed his prized possession. Its final act was to snap the scope in half. Then it tossed the pile of scrap metal at his feet. It smiled at him again, the expression gloating and malicious. Jason smiled back and emptied a dozen 5.56mm Xuanlong assault rifle rounds into the creature's crotch.
As it doubled over, howling, he sprang forward. Rage blinded him. His questing grip found the silencer on the tip of the Perforator's barrel. He jammed the jagged edge of the ruined barrel into the creature's throat, roaring with rage as he did so. He drove them the abomination backwards into the nearest pillar, stabbing it again and again with the ruined remains of his assault rifle.
The abomination fought back, even as blood poured out of the gaping wound in its throat. It caught his wrist in a death grip and twisted, forcing the makeshift weapon away. Its other hand landed with a hammer strike on his collarbone, breaking it. As an afterthought it slammed its horned skull into his face, breaking his nose and leaving long gashes across his forehead. The creature drew both of its hands back and struck outwards, hitting him in the gut with a forceful double-blow. Jason flew backwards and landed with a splash in a nearby puddle.
Yet the creature wasn't done. It rushed forward with an impossible speed, picking him up and ramming him through one of the thin stone pillars. It kept going, slamming him into a nearby wall and landing six painful blows around his head and chest. Then it lifted him clear into the air and brought him down on the broken stalagmite pillar. Jason felt the tip of the stone spike pierce into his back, ripping through his insides to come poking out near his belly button. His vision swam and the waking world faded in and out.
The abomination's fingers scrambled at his throat, trying to throttle him. Yet they too were losing strength. The thing's attacks were growing weaker and uncoordinated as the moments passed. The blood loss and internal damage was finally taking its toll, and Jason watched in a pain-induced haze as it slowly slid past him and dropped to the ground, growling out a last hate-filled breath as it died.
The Wanderer pawed uselessly at the stone pillar protruding from his chest, but he no longer had the strength, nor the leverage to pull himself out. Was this where he died? How long would his perks keep him from going over the brink? Mortal fear, something he hadn't truly experienced in close to four years, swept through him, even as he blacked out, trapped and wounded somewhere in the bowels of the Capital Wasteland.
So I'm bending cannon a little bit. I realized I had never mentioned the Centaurs before. Decided to take the opportunity to introduce them as an entirely new enemy. I don't actually think about them much when I am playing. They're just one more thing to shoot. But wouldn't it be horrifying to run into one in real life? My god those things are scary. Go take a close look at one the next time you play Fallout 3. I don't believe an FEV injection which failed to create a proper Supermutant would still produce something that combat viable, so I'm giving that creature to this series' FEV II virius.
Murder Pass has been expanded a little bit. I wanted it to feel more maze-like and wild than it was in-game. Plenty of inspiration shamelessly liberated from a particular level of Metro: Last Light. You guys know which one I'm thinking of. That level is where I feel Bethesda had intended to go with that location anyway.
as for the Mk II mutant, i wanted it to be tough, but not invincible.