Chapter 6 - Playing Its Game
"...I see that you have done yourself good son..." Trace mentioned as the audience became quiet to listen. "Better off than with the other work you were doing after leaving the Terran Confederacy."
"..." Jim reacted with pressing his lips together a little. "Thanks pa...had to shape up sooner or later."
"...indeed...well my question to you my boy is...why did you work to gain blood money?"
"..." he responded with staring at the wall hard. Closing his hands into loose fists, he breathed in and out slowly.
"I thought...we discussed this before...you gave me your opinion...and that was that."
"But that life...was not for you Jim...it isn't how I raised ya," his father's voice stated.
"When it comes to surviving...you do what you have to do," the Commander reasoned. Reaching into his right vest chest pocket, he pulled out his carton of cigarettes. Opening it up to see he still had a few left, he grabbed one.
"There were other ways to survive son," he countered sounding a bit more disappointed.
"Like how dad?" he asked.
Putting the smoke in his mouth, he put his pack away. Patting himself for a lighter, he found it in the left chest pocket. While getting it out, he heard something in the background. Listening to it while cranking the small wheel of his zippo, it was barely distinguishable. All he could make out from it was white noise and low tonal sounds. Getting a lit and putting the cig to it, he took a hit.
"..." Jim continued with exhaling the smoke from his lungs. Feeling a little less edgy, he put his lighter back in the chest pocket of his black vest. Taking the smoke out of his mouth, he continued.
"The government after the war was stealing and robbing your farm as well as everyone elses...they took all hard workers and good peoples supplies and money to feed their own pockets...while they drank and dine, their own people starved regardless of being poor or not."
"..." the background audience responded remaining quiet. Strangely to Raynor, it was way too quiet for a supposed crowd around him; however, the uncanny feeling of that thing in the room was still present. Know that it was the one pulling all the stunts, that aspect kept the ex-marine alert.
"Playing Robin Hood does not make you a hero Jim," Trace mentioned sounding neutral. Shifting his eyes and head to the right, the raider leader heard his father's voice coming from the adjacent wall instead of the one he was staring down. Putting the cigarette back in his mouth, he inhaled then exhaled. seeing the gray cloud escape from his mouth, it calmed his nerves a little.
"...I guess not...you never took any of that money when I sent it to you directly...you also never excepted the money that was through a friend. He was not even involved with my activities and understood what help I was trying to give."
"It was money you stole...not earned the right way."
"And look where that got you pa...kicking the bucket just became a lot closer to you," Jim pointed out. Taking another inhale and breathing out the smoke, he gave a frown at the wall.
"Even when ma tried to reason with you about living more comfortably...you chose to suffer."
"It was what I felt was right and just...even if I became penniless, I won't stoop to that level of becoming a petty criminal to survive...I will die by my own means," the senior person remarked sounding more disappointed.
"..." Jim reacted with a tight smirk. Despite feeling guilt from the past coming back to him, he remained collected and firm. Reminding himself that this was an imitation from the monster to make him talk, it was still hard from how surreal it felt.
"The intensity of this family affair is so thick folks, you could cut through it like a knife through butter," the game announcer chimed in then began to fore tale an example of similar characteristics from a past special guest on the show .
Upon listening and trying to calm down, Raynor could feel that something was occurring around him. While turning his head slowly and putting the cig back in his mouth, he focused on listening. It seemed to be emitting from the opposite side of the room that he was facing. Knowing that it was the cell door, he breathed in and started pacing slowly. Eventually getting to the point of looking behind him, he saw the cell door was partially open.
About knee height of space from the floor, it was enough to see the condition of outside. Exhaling and not stopping his snail walking, his senses felt a little sharper. The environment had altered dramatically. Instead of the clean industrial hospital look, it had become weathered. Looking like it had gone through oxidation and changed to a more rustic look, it was stained with crimson.
"..." Jim reacted with a neutral face. Breathing in again, he airied out the gray cloud from his lungs. Though it calmed him a little, his arm hairs were starting to stand on end. Turning away from the opening, he faced back to see the majority of the room. Still looking the same emptiness as before, he stopped to focus back on the creature talking.
"...now then...let us go to our next participant in the audience!" it stated with excitement.
The energy the thing brought seemed to overcome the dullness that was produced when the Commander talked to his old man again. Hearing the crowd do low amounts of cheering and clapping, Raynor narrowed his eyes. Trying to not think about what he wanted to do, he took the cigarette out of his mouth. When hearing the footsteps going around the room again, the raider leader slowly walked backwards. Despite doing this and hearing the random low chaos of sound from the invisible crowd, the creation did not stop him or tell him no.
"You...yes you," the game host spoke. It seemed to draw the audience from one side of the room to the other side.
"You will be our next participant in this special event!"
"..." Jim reacted with a hard face.
Tapping the cig a couple of times, it got some of the flakes off the burning end of the bud. Intentionally hitting one more time harder, he let the smoke escape his hold and hit the floor. Listening to the roar of the crowd followed by excited people all around, he looked down and began to kneel. Getting a knee on the floor and picking his cigarette, he turned his head to the opening. His eyes opened a little bit in surprise.
Seeing into the hallway passed the door, the same weather and croded environment appeared. He could even smell the iron from both the rust and the blood that seemed everywhere in the hallway. Hearing the same low volume of static and bass decibel again, it seemed to originate from the hallway to the right. Glancing at his smoke and putting it into his mouth, he took another glance again. Pressing his lips together firmly, he took a shallow breath in seeing something.
Hearing dull thumping footsteps from the right hallway, a figure was slowly coming toward the door. Focusing on it, the body of it became clearer as its outline got more defined. It was one of the live dissected corpses from the 2nd floor. A laceration that went from the middle of its neck all the way down to the groin area. Intestines had fallen out and were being dragged on the floor still attached to the insides.
Saturated with crimson, there were other components that made it seem more of a hybrid. Human limbs replaced with both Zerg and Protoss appendages and body components. Hearing what sounded like his name being called in the background, he remained still just watching the thing continue. Seeing it breath, it began to balloon itself. As if the entire torso and stomach was an air sac, it inflated to a giant bouncy ball before decompressing. Hearing it gurgling as it exhaled, the monstrosity misted blood while other skin and chucks flowed out from various areas.
'...god damn...' Jim muttered disgusted at the Frankenstein monster. Breathing the smoke out from his lungs, he slowly stood up.
"Mr. Raynor?"
"...yea-!?" he responded out loud.
Hearing a high pitch squeal from the other side of the door, it made him jump a little from being startled. As if the audience took note of the sudden change, murmurs began occurring all around the room. Hearing the thumping get louder and closer, it came with heavy slithering of something wet and dragging against the floor. Not wanting to be in any near reach of that thing, the Commander took a few quick steps forward. Turning around and walking backwards again, he watched a shadow make way towards the hatch.
"...UUUGG #$%!qt!$HHHH..." the undead vocalized in an agonizing and glitching moan. Without stopping, it impacted hard against the access door causing a loud wet slap against it. As if it was in pain, the living dissected specimen screech harshly at the metal door and began pounding on it.
"W-W-What on earth is that!?" someone from the crowd shouted out loud.
"It's a monster!"
"Run for it!"
"Please! Please! Ladies and gentlemen! Remain calm! The staff will have the situation under control in no time," the announcer tried his best to sway how the audience was reacting.
"..." Jim commented staring at the opening.
Seeing the lower limbs of the figure and how bloody they looked, it gave the feeling of being in a horror movie. Despite hearing the game host try to ease the fears of others, the pounding on the door started to move down the wall. Slowly, Jim saw its appendages of sliced and limped limbs start to be seen. Getting lower to the ground enough, those body parts began reaching through the small opening.
"Shit!" Raynor swore out loud. Backing up more till he was in the center of the chamber , he flicked the cig away and pulled out his revolver. Grabbing it with two hands, he got into a standing fire position. Putting a right foot forward and the left back a little bit, he lined the sights up toward the worming body parts.
"Don't do anything reckless son!" his father's voice called out that was heavily muffled in the panic crowd.
Instead of it being a sense of encouragement, it elevated the level of fear the audience making a couple scream in fright. Hearing the level of the surrounding invisible people crescendo to overall loud, he gritted his teeth and fired a shot. Impacting one of the appendages hard and causing a heavy bubble pop, the gun blast echoed violently in the room. Suddenly, the lights turned off as if in response to his action. Freezing in place and waiting to see the monster to crawl in, it elevated everyone's current scared and aura of fear.
Instead of a squeal, it roared furiously. The creature's scream lasted for several seconds and seemed to increase in pitch the longer it continued. The emergency red lights turned on and began to rotate indicating that there was a breach. Still training his weapon at the opening and not moving from his spot, the environment became chaotic and hard to see. Waiting for the audible alarm to sound off, it wasn't what he was expecting. The normal piercing sound never came. Instead, it was augmented while emitting low decibel rumbles and vibrations.
'Either the creature in this room messed with the alarms...or they rotted out years ago,' Jim thought staring hard at the bottom portion of the door.
Blinking, his eyes widen a little bit from what he saw. Instead of a couple of limbs reaching under the door, there were a few more sets. As if a dissected group of them had showed up, they were making nasty shouts and grunts while pounding on the hatch. Not trusting that regular bullets will put them down if they started entering, he quickly looked around the room. Seeing that it really was more of a holding chamber, Raynor looked up on the walls. Spotting a vent grate on one adjacent to the entry way, it seemed to lead to the neighboring room.
Hearing the crowd's shouts and screams get replaced with the undead squeals and movement, he turned back to the hatch. Taking a step back, the bloody monsters were now trying to crawl into the space. Not caring if the setup smelled like a trap, the Commander turned and rushed to the vent. Firing at where the top screws were on the grate, it blew them out. Seeing the cover pop open a little and lean forward, it exposed the duct that seemed big enough from him to squeeze through.
Stopping in front of it, he jumped and grabbed the grate. Forcing the metal to bend over the bottom portion that was still screwed into the wall, his escape was open now. Hearing the creatures growl in a frenzy, the raider leader took a quick glance back. Only one had gotten completely through while the others were still struggling to squeeze in. Seeing the deformed gored beast slowly stand up, its appendages began slithering toward him.
Quickly pointing his gun at the thing, he fired the remaining slugs in his revolver. One impacted the exposed torso while the other shot in its head. Seeing it staggering back a few steps, it did not go down. Not wanting to see if it will get furious, Jim holstered his handgun and turned around. Jumping and grabbing the bottom of the vent opening, he pulled himself up using his feet on the wall and grate for some foothold.
Getting into it and manuevering to a prone position, Raynor began crawling forward. Despite feeling a bit claustrophobic from hitting the sides of the vent duct and that there was little to no light, he continued forward. Hearing a harsh and dark hissing from where the entry point was, he saw something up ahead. Suddenly feeling no metal wall next to his right side, there was another pathway to take. Hearing silthering from behind followed by a growing iron and rotten smell, he turned right and moved.
Following where the duct was going, he stopped only when he could not hear that dissected thing's growling. Stopping to take a small breather, his senses were still on high alert. From the limited space for movement, he tried patting himself to find his spare emergency glow light. Finding it in his left chest vest pocket, he pulled the stick out. Bending it in half to break it, it began to give off a soft neon green glow.
'...well...at least there isn't any rats in here...or yet...' Raynor thought with a half frown.
Holding the flexible tube like a cigarette between his right fingers, he began to crawl forward. After about two minutes, he began to see something further ahead from him. Shifting the light stick to be in his fist, he proceeded slowly. Coming to a stop, it was a vent grate. Peering down it, the red flashing lights were still ongoing.
Looking to as much as he could see, the hallway that was below him looked clear. Keeping the glow stick in his hand to prevent the light from being shined and revealing his position, the Commander felt the vent. Seeing that it was not too firmly in place, he could knock it out. About to, there suddenly came a tidal wave of sound. Blinking a couple of times, Jim froze and waited.
Screams of frantic people were heard. Seeing a horrid of dark silhouettes, they were running from one end of the hallway pass to the other. Passing under him, the raider leader watched cautiously. In few instances, he thought he saw small beads of eyes stare directly at him. Though he couldn't be sure if they saw him as they continued forward quickly, the sight kept him on his toes.
Listening and waiting, the noises were quickly going away. Hearing nothing and waiting several seconds, he scanned below him through the vent again. Thinking that the coast was clear, he began to crawl forward. Passing the grate and stopping when his boots hit it, he tried rotating to his back. Successful, he lifted his foot and kicked it down on the slotted portion of the duct work.
"..." Jim commented. Hearing a loud thud that traveled the length of the, the vent did not pop out.
"Come on you stupid-"
"#$UUUURRRRKKKK#$%"
"...!?" the Commander reacted hearing the monstrous squeal.
Sounds of something coming from where he crawled from was getting louder. Unable to see through the darkness, he moved his right hand to cross his body. Sucking in his gut to get more room, he held the emergency light tube in his fingers. Reeling it as far back as he could, he chucked it down the ventilation shoot. Moving his feet out of the way and trying to look down, the bouncing neon green object rolled till it hit a turning wall.
"...shit..." Raynor muttered to himself seeing a blood thin arm snatched it with a snarl. Lifting both feet up quickly, he hammered both down on the grate. Making another thud sound and about to hit it again, something gave way. Freefalling and feeling not confined anymore, a rotating red light blinded him a little. Not knowing how far from the ground he was, he lifted his head up and tensed everything up from impact.
"Gaahh!" Jim released out loud from hitting the floor hard. Clenching his teeth, he was slightly grateful from not letting his head whiplash to the ground. Feeling sore, he tried moving himself around a little. Despite being a little roughed up, nothing seemed broken or sprained.
"Uhh..." he muttered and slowly sat up. "What the hell happened?"
Looking up and examining the vent duct, he saw that it was not too high up. When the rotating red lights came and went, he saw that four sections of the bottom track had opened cleanly. Feeling the sides of the metal portion that was under him, the edges were not dull or sharp at all. Confused, another squeal came out of the new opening of the air line. Adrenaline kicked up again numbing the soreness and sharpening up his senses.
Getting up quickly and moving away from the duct opening, he initially went in the direction that the voices were going. Seeing that he was coming up to a flashing emergency light module with a speaker attachment, the audible alarm was still the low decibel rumble. About to move forward, something made him put his back to the wall and hide.
"Hey...did you hear something?" a person asked that was relatively nearby.
"You hear a lot of things during these shifts," another individual informed. Both seemed to be walking around nearby.
"Yeah...but that sounded like something fell nearby and hit the ground."
"Probably the duct work just doing its thing because its cold."
"H-H-H-H-E-E-E-H-H-H-H-H#$%#uuuuuuugggggggghhhhhh," the monster exhaled loudly followed by wet slaps and groaning.
"..." the ex-marine spoke seeing the dissected being come out of the duct work and fall to the ground. Causing a moist sponge smack, liquid shot out from the impact. The loud sound made the unknown individuals reveal themselves. They came from the other end of the hallway and appeared as black silhouettes. Even when the rotating infrared illumination came, only the monster was defined while the others were not detailed at all.
"What the heck is that?" one asked not sounding frightened.
"Who knows," the second stated and grabbed something from behind.
As the hybrid stood up, the silhouetted pulled something from its hand and did an underhand toss. Hearing the small clanks and the object rolling, Jim felt his neck hairs stand on end. Turning around, he bolted hard toward the door opening near him. Not stopping from hearing an inhuman roar, he passed through the open doorway. Stopping and side stepping to the wall next to the door, the frag exploded violently in the other room.
'What the hell was that grenade!?' Jim thought startled from how loud it was. Feeling a tremor go through the ground, the rush of expanding gases and fire shot through the doorway.
From the small bomb lighting the room that he was in for a bit, he saw that it had a larger ceiling and was more of a rest area. His attention was directed downward from suddenly smelling burning flesh and carcasses of Protoss and Zerg. The body parts of the hybrid had sprayed into the enlarged chamber and were squirming quickly. Like a snake caught in a lethal trap, all of them were whipping and moving frantically to find a way to survive.
"Did it get that thing?" the one that threw the grenade asked.
"I think so...but I saw a huge rodent go into the next room," the other remarked.
"You spotted it, you kill it. Probably have to use that bigger charged one for it."
"Yeah yeah," the person commented.
"...!?" Raynor reacted.
Moving away from the wall and moving as fast and as quietly as possible, there were three passageways to choose. Going to the nearest one on his right, he saw that it started to change before his eyes. The closer he got, it became more weathered as if it was being corrupted by something. Almost getting in front of it, he heard whispers emitting from it. Stopping and listening, the sound of something being pulled came from the room he left from.
"...set the charge for 30 seconds...then we break in...steal all the goods...quick and simple..." a familiar voice came from the altered doorway.
'...holy...that was from when...' the Commander began to say in his mind.
Remembering the pin pull, the light of a fuse emitted loudly from the passageway he was looking down. With his instincts telling him to flee, he sprinted hard to the opening to his left. Being on the opposite side of where he entered, he saw something bounce into the room he was currently in. Catching a small glimpse of what it was, his pulse rate elevated quickly. Feeling his eyes go into micro-vision and things slow down a little, he tensed everything up waiting for the explosion to occur.
Barely making it through the doorway, the rapid winding of the pulse frag occurred. Braking himself and diving to the floor on the right to get wall cover, the small bomb went off. Hearing the power down bass noise, it detonated deafening loud. Hearing the rush of destruction, it was so powerful that the wall above him blew out. Covering his head for any falling debris, the temperature around him increased while the wall radiated more heat. Looking down the hallway he was in, the blue flares from the explosion shot far down it and created a stark contrast to the emergency lights.
'God damnit,' Jim thought frowning. Not able to hear anything except the test tone used on TVs, he closed his eyes and tried to recover quickly to move again.