Author's Note: Hello there! This is the first time I'm doing something for Doom, but I thought it was well overdue and what better time to do it than Halloween? Anyways for reference, this takes place around the start of the story for Doom 2016 and if you enjoy this then I might suggest reading some of my other stuff too (since people say they're pretty good, but hey, everyone's got their tastes.)
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DOOM (I'd prefer not to mess it up tbh.)
Enjoy.
The Creature That Demons Fear
Torn down and deformed into a seedy marsh of unfathomable evil, any sign of the complex structures and robotics of the UAC facility had been overrun by the darkest forces imaginable. The forces of hell itself. Mankind's machinations had brought down the ruthless fury of demons and ghouls alike upon the mars base, resulting in countless tapestries of flesh and blood to complement the seemingly endless number of gore nests littered around the doomed place.
Nightmarish assortments of creatures skulked around the sandy exterior whilst many more lurked inside the battered halls, worn down by the painful screams of millions of lost souls and the unholy screeches of its newer inhabitants. Regardless of how many scientists they had either slaughtered or possessed, these beings continued their hunt for anyone else to feed on.
Only one room remained pure from this corrosive plague of hellfire, a single broom closet blanketed in darkness. For once this darkness wasn't oppressive, instead it provided comfort and safety for its sole inhabitant. A single UAC scientist sat in the corner, hunched over, and shaking. At the very first sign of a demonic breach, he had immediately attempted to evacuate. Unfortunately for both him and his co-workers, those disgusting beasts had reached the escape pods before they could and had already overrun whatever forces were capable of stopping them.
After that frightful encounter, it had all become a blur. How he had survived, how he had even managed to get there was all a result of his fight or flight reflexes and sheer dumb luck. In spite of his unlikely escape, his skin still tremored in a perpetual state of fear, almost certain that one of those horrific creatures would check there eventually. In some vain attempt to prevent this, he kept his hand up to his mouth to silence his breaths as much as he could. His terrified heart however, made sure this had as little effect as possible.
Shink!
Before his very eyes a bloodied crimson claw pierced through the metallic door that had once separated him from the living nightmare that was the remains of the UAC base. With eyes widened in pure horror, the scientist clutched his mouth tighter in the hopes that it may help. This hope was immediately shattered as the hell bound creature that lied on the other side ripped the door apart, allowing for whatever active light source there was to bleed into the room.
His eyes grew to the size of planets as he took in the mangled form of the horrendous demon. How its crimson guts laid bear to the elements with its orange, fleshy armour covering its shoulders, chest, and head. How two jagged spikes protruded from its spine, its sharpness only being rivalled by the demon's claws and teeth. How its burning ember orbs bore into him with a barbarous lust for blood.
He had studied this disgusting thing before; he knew what kind of creature it was and what it was capable of. He knew enough to realize that there was no chance that he could get away from it now. Preparing to pounce onto its captive prey, a hideous growl exited the imp's maw, ready for the kill.
Boom!
Both the imp and the scientist turned their heads towards the source of the earth-shattering sound. Whilst the imp looked on towards the commotion, the UAC researcher shifted his eyes back to the creature, still wary of what it was going to do. To his surprise however, the imp pounced out of the room as the hellish screeches of the damned filled the air.
Before he could even ask himself what on earth was going on outside, the sounds of shotgun blasts, automatic rifles and even a chainsaw followed by several demons' dying screams engorged his ears, creating a freakish soundscape of metal and death. In what had felt like an eternity of hearing the very demons that had annihilated his fellow employees yell out in agony, the chaos had finally stopped. Silence had filled the room, resulting in a thankful sigh from the scientist.
Stomp! Stomp!
Resisting the urge to shout in terror, the scientist held his breath as his ears picked up heavy footsteps from down the hall. He could hear them coming closer. Had he given himself away to this new being? What kind of monolith was capable of taking down those monsters? What was he going to do to him? These questions flew through his mind at a rapid pace as the being's footsteps rung out through the room like a funeral bell blasting through a grief-stricken church. Seeing the figure's shadow creeping over to his location, the scientist begun praying to every God imaginable, clinging onto the increasing impossibility of actually getting out of this destroyed facility alive. Just as the being's form appeared in the door, the researcher's heart stopped.
It can't be.
Before him was the hulking mass of the praetor suit that they had uncovered mere months ago, yet this time a menacing air surrounded the metallic armour. Plates that were once a muted green were now drenched with blood both dried and fresh, twisting the colour of the suit to look a sinister black and crimson. A single strand of a demon's intestine could also be seen hanging off the suit's right shoulder, almost acting as some sort of demented trophy. The scientist also noticed the shotgun tightly clutched in the suit's right hand.
Though this terrifying sight truly did shake the man to his core, confusion soon brought itself to the surface. But we were never able to activate that suit. Who could have…?
His eyes widened once again as the answer became clear in his mind. Only one man could have activated that suit. The very person that they had found with it. A space marine buried within the deepest pits of hell. The one they called…
The doom slayer.
Paralysed by this frightening realisation, he didn't react as the slayer stepped forward and reached out towards him. All he could do was stare into the helmet of the hardened soldier. As he got even closer to him, he was able to see the warrior's eyes, blazing with an unquenchable, eternal rage. Eyes that could only belong to a creature more dangerous than hell itself.
Feeling the slayer grip something by his collar, the researcher gulped hard as the marine ripped off his lanyard holding his yellow key-card. With the subject of his search now attained, the doom slayer simply walked out of the closet and into the dimly lit section of the hallway. As he stepped out, the scientist finally released his breath, almost suffocated by the very presence of the bloodied marine. After taking a second to recuperate, he finally stood up and headed out the opening of the closet, confident that the coast was clear.
As soon as he stepped out however, he was greeted with the sight of a bloody massacre. Decapitated heads were strewn around the floor alongside the eviscerated torsos of various demons. Remains of guts and intestines lined the walls like some twisted decoration, with patches of scorched skin acting as a hideous wallpaper. Amidst all this, there were some corpses that could barely even be identified as having ever lived, their bones pounded into dust and their flesh beaten into a crimson paste. If the sight alone wasn't enough to make the researcher vomit, the smell of rotten flesh and dried blood certainly was. Unable to restrain himself, he heaved and threw up all over the floor as the doom slayer stomped towards the locked door near the opposite end of the hall.
Finding himself finally finished puking on the bloodied, metal floor, the scientist looked up towards the part of the hallway the doom slayer came from. Though he knew that the barbaric marine would have most likely taken care of the unholy infestation in the earlier rooms, his paranoia got the better of him as he dared to ask him, "Is it safe down there?!"
This caused the slayer to stop in his tracks just as he was about to slide the key-card across the yellow access panel. He turned his head slightly to face the scientist, giving him a look capable of ripping his soul right out of him, making the now trembling researcher regret his decision immediately. To his surprise however, the warrior gave him a small nod before swiping the key-card over the panel and readying his weapon.
Bewildered by the slayer's response, the researcher could only manage a nervous, "Thank you!" Before he ran down the hall, hoping that he could finally escape this dreaded place. The gate leading deeper within the invaded facility opened up before the doom slayer as he cocked his shotgun and marched forward with malicious intent.
As the researcher sprinted further and further away from the hallway of his potential demise, loud demonic shrieks of unmistakable pain and anguish bellowed from deeper within the facility, echoing off the broken-down halls. Finding himself shivering once again, the scientist could only imagine what the doom slayer had planned for those demonic hordes. But there was one thing he knew for sure.
No-one can stop the doom slayer.
I hope you've had fun with this one-shot. A bit on the short side I know, but frankly I think making it any longer would drag it out a bit. Will I do more DOOM content in the future? Who knows? Depends on how I feel tbh. Until next time :)