30 Days
Day 26
Authors Note- First of all I would like to apologize to the readers of this fan fic for the gap between updates. A lot of stuff has been going on both personal (Graduating College, Eye Surgery) and Psychological that has kept me away from the written word. This update would not have been possible without the support from my dear friend Marco whose discussion of a book he was reading got the gears turning and the fingers typing. Second of all the incantation used in the story is a real incantation from the book "The Necronomicon Spellbook" originally published by Avon books, and belongs to the author and its publisher, not me. Now sit back, crack open a Dr. Pepper, maybe put on some Philip Glass("Organic" from the Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack is preferred) and relax, I'm going to tell you a story-Steve
Marco paced back and forth in the small guest room Shinigami-sama had put him and his wife in. He had run the gamut of emotions, from happy to be out of that nightmare, to sheer panic as he wondered what has become of his friend.
"What the fuck are we going to do?" Marco said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I don't think there is anything we can do," Rachel said, "you heard the guy, he's a freaking loony tune, completely and utterly bat shit crazy. I think we should just pack up and head back to Yankton."
"You want to give up is that it?" Marco said.
"Marco," Rachel said, "I think you don't grasp…" Marco turned to her with pure hatred in his eyes.
"You want to leave our friend, the one person who is like a brother to me, the one person who cares for me like I'm his goddamn family, to be fucking savaged by these people? How fucked up are you?" He said.
"He's my friend too Marco!" Rachel shouted.
"Then why the fuck are you giving up on him?" He shot back.
"Because he's beyond our help, Marco," Rachel said, "He's gone, there is no humanity left, no decency. He has become a monster, and the sooner you realize that the better off you'll be."
"You don't know that, there may be a part of him still in there!" Marco said.
"Look, I know this is hurting you, it's hurting everyone here. But, we can't spend the rest of our time here trying to save a lost cause. It's over Marco; the Steve you knew is dead." Rachel turned over and stared at the clock.
"I just wish I could help him." Marco said.
"Get some sleep, babe," Rachel said, "We've been through hell, and we at least deserve some peace." Marco got under the covers and kissed her softly on the neck.
"I love you." Marco whispered, wrapped his arms around her warm body and drifted off.
Inside the Fallout
Steve knew something was off, internally and externally. He was having one of his famous nerve attacks, ones he thought he had rid himself of; suddenly the racing thoughts and fluttery sensation came on full force. He had also noticed that he was in Death City, not some Podunk little town in Nevada where he should have been. He looked at his Magellan GPS.
"What in the hell is going on?" Steve said. He tapped his GPS's touch screen. The friendly female voice didn't respond like it normally did, instead a deep voice began speaking, its sound filling the car.
"ZI KIA KANPA, ZIA ANNA KANPA, ZI DINGIR KIA KANPA, ZI DINGIR ANNA KANPA." The voice said. Steve sat there transfixed, he had heard these words before, but where? The voice continued.
"Hear me now oh MARDUK, come to me by the powers of the word DUGGA, and answer my urgent prayer. ZI KIA KANPA, ZI ANNA KANPA." The voice said. Silence filled the car. Steve looked at himself in the rear view mirror, his mind racing. He saw the images in the back of his mind, the blue haired ninja slashing his secret crush, the one who he pined for in anime club, the boy with the two guns firing aimlessly, his bullets hitting their targets, and he saw Maka. He saw the moonlight streaming through the 3rd floor of the student center, her frail body, holding that scythe. Her, he wanted her, no one else, and she had to be his. She had to be his, and he had to be her first, her last, her everything. Steve looked at himself in the rear view mirror, a small trickle of black blood flowing from his nose. He put his fingers to his nose and dabbed them in the blood. He licked the tips of them and savored the metallic taste. He began to laugh, a small chuckle turned into a maniacally loud belly laugh.
"Don't worry Maka," Steve shouted, "I'll save you!" And gunned his engine through the fragile fabric of the world he made.
Outside the Fallout Zone
Kami sat in Shinigami-sama's office, thumbing through the latest file on what was being called an Extinction Level Event.
"So all the stuff that occurred earlier, the confusing elements, they were him?" She said.
"He made this whole thing, the world or what's left of it now, is his creation. I assume he was still taking his medication when he began creating such odd events." Shinigami-sama said.
"So, Steve talking to his brother on the phone, or the sudden shifts in continuity was his medication." Kami said.
"The anti-psychotics and anti-anxiety medications sort of altered how the madness could be controlled, now that he's off them, he has 100 percent domination of the world." He said.
"What now? " Kami said.
"Well, in this kind of situation we would normally see if any humanity or sanity is left in the person and go from there. Mr. Shroyer however is too far gone. If my calculations are correct the madness has spread 100 percent throughout his body, the only possible option is extermination. "He said.
"You know that isn't going to sit well with his friends, or Gorgon's daughter." Kami said.
"That is true, but right now we have a top meister and a death scythe in there. If we lose them then we may as well shut down." Shinigami-sama said.
"We still got Ford and D'éclair, they are about as good as my daughter and Soul." Kami said.
"Not anymore, they both died, I got the message from Mira before you came in." He said.
"How, they seemed healthy when I was in the clinic?" She said.
"The madness level is quite strong as you know; being inside for an extended period without some kind of subconscious buffer can have adverse psychological side effects. Mr. Ford and Mr. D'éclair were found in the same bed, holding each other. Ox was found to have a high level of cyanide in his system. Havar stabbed himself in the chest with a scalpel. We checked the security cameras and found the audio to be quite disturbing. They were quoting Shakespeare."
"'Romeo and Juliet,' that's Shroyer's favorite tragedy," Kami said, "But they were outside the fallout zone, how could he have control of them?"
"I am sorry to tell you this, Ox and Havar are not going to be the only ones who die." Shinigami-sama said.
"What are you talking about?" Kami said.
"Unfortunately we have found that the longer you stay inside the fallout, even with a buffer, small amounts of Black Blood do enter the system. You, Shroyer's friends, and Gorgon's Daughter were in there almost 30 days. In that amount of time you absorbed about 200 parts per million of extremely potent black blood. This Black Blood stays small inside the fallout zone, outside however it begins to spread wildly causing the person infected to lose free will and become a puppet of the blood's source." Shinigami-sama said.
"How long?" Kami said.
"Four days, "He said, "Unless we eliminate the source."
"What about Maka and Soul?" She said.
"I am afraid they are a lost cause, their friends too. Inside the fallout zone he already infected them. We got the 5 weapon and meister teams on stabilizers but unless we eliminate the source then you're all going to be too far gone." He said. Kami looked at the wall of video monitors. Steve's friends sleeping peacefully, Soul and Maka's Friends comforting each other, she felt the consuming darkness that was inside them. A small tear ran down her cheek, they would all be lost, their lives destroyed, unless an unfortunate soul consumed by hatred was in turn consumed by the very instrument of his death. It was a no win situation. She left the office dreading the coming staff briefing and the news that would come.
TBC
