Inferno
By Grant Cravens
Forward and Legal Crap.
This story borders fan fiction and a plain furry story
(sonic is never mentioned, but others are in it).
This story takes place as the alternate ending for my
Sonic the Hedgehog fan fiction series. There are some
characters in this story that are not found in the StH
comic books or cartoon series. Some of the words and
phrases may be different to some people, i.e. religious
figures may or may not be capitalized, depending on the
characters using these words. And, to make things
easier, they will be listed by name.
I'd like to 'thank' Wedge, for helping me edit this.
If you wish to contact me, my email is
INSNR8@mindless.com.
Charactes by Grant Cravens
Jeremy Kyle Adraan
Age: 15
Species: Fox, male
Background: Was trapped in the void with King Acorn for
11 years of his life. He just recently made in back onto Mobius, and helped the Freedom Fighters take
down Packbell.
Tanya Gimble
Age: 30
Species: Human, female
Background: Commander of the UNAF (United Nations Armed
Forces) from Earth. Helped Freedom Fighters take down Packbell.
Nexus
Age: 15
Species: Coyote, female
Background: Nexus is an orphan from the general region
of south Mobius. She is relitivly unknown in Knothole,
and is friend to Jeremy.
Odyssey
Age: 14
Species: Lynx, female
Background: Resident of Tails' native village, Bluebrook,
and girlfriend of M.D. Windward. Member of Sigma.
Tycho "Furball" Reznor
Age: 11
Species: Cat, male
Background: Vocal cords were taken out by Robotnik as a
reminder of his power. He is shy, and often is by
himself. Member of Sigma.
Bryan Taylor
Age: 14
Species: Wolf, male
Background: Very little is known about Bryan. All that
is known is he is from Earth, and is a very good friend
of Mike Fuhr. Leader of the air team, Sigma.
Ty Unix
Age: 14
Species: Wolf/fox, female
Background: From the village Greentree, Ty is an expert
mechanic. Her brother was killed by Packbell. Girlfriend
and soul mate to Bryan Taylor. Member of Sigma.
By Wedge Dantillies
Wedge Dantillies
Age: 15
Species: Fox/flying squirrel, male
Background: Wedge is a drifter, and an orphan. He is
relitivly unknown in Knothole.
By Tre Duffy
Mike Fuhr
Age: 14
Species: Rat, male
Background: Very little is known about Mike, also. He
is the friend of Bryan, and also from Earth. Member of
Sigma.
By Casey Bennett
M.D. Windward
Age: 14
Species: Flying Squirrel, male
Background: MD's family lived in Axis Station, by the
Great Unknown. They were killed by MD's best friend.
MD is now suicidal. Member of Sigma.
By Leia Weathington
Foxy Quicksilver
Age: 15
Species: Fox, female
Background: Foxy was a member of the Mobius Bounty
Hunter Legion. She helped the Freedom Fighters with
negotiations with the UNAF.
By Eric Goodwin
Sir Kain
By Ryan Huber
Ryan Huber
By David Pistone
Commander Packbell
Other members of Sigma
Artie Prower by Mike Reves
EG Foxfire by Carol Schneeweiss
Tiffany Fox by Besch Rose
Azy by Jessica Heyl
By Sega, Archie Comics, and DiC
Miles "Tails" Prower
Bunnie Rabbot
Sally Acorn
Dr. Robotnik
Geoffrey St. John
Inferno
This whole thing started four days ago, jesus, it
seems like longer. No one really expected anything, it
had appeared as dark clouds on the horizon. It scared
the hell out of me, truthfully. They seemed so harmless
as they stirred ominously over the mountain range, but
I felt something in them. It was a feeling like no other,
like I had been hit in the stomach one to many times.
Day 1
I knew something was wrong that morning, I awoke at
six. The sun wasn't even up yet, but I was wide awake.
And there was that feeling. After trying to fall back
asleep for an hour, I left my hut, and began to wander
the village.
Everything seemed usual, except for the fact that
no one was around. Everyone was asleep, Knothole looked
like a ghost town. But, everything else was normal. I
glanced into Bryan's hut (the door was open), to find Ty
curled in a tight ball next to him. Ty would do that to
him, she'd slip into his hut while he was asleep, and fall
asleep next to him. Nothing ever happened, Ty would just
sleep, an opportunity to be close to Bryan. And, of course,
Bryan never minded.
I stopped by Nexus' hut, and peered in. She was sleeping
peacefully in her bed. I had begun to feel close to Nexus
lately, but she doesn't know yet. And I wanted to be close,
but I didn't know what to do, or say. I just ended up acting
like an idiot around her. But I wanted to be close to her,
to feel her fur against mine.
I sighed wishfully, when I noticed Tails standing by
the cliff. He was holding a pair of binoculars, which
he used to peer out towards the mountains.
"Something's not right, Jay," He said to me, as I
walked to him. He didn't even turn his head. "Those clouds,
I have a bad feeling about them."
I did too, but said nothing. By 0800 hours, everybody
was up in Knothole and stirring about. Nexus found me,
and, much to my surprise wrapped her arms around me. She
was crying.
"I had the worst dream," She told me, burying her face
into my neck. I, of course, was only half listening. I
was enjoying the physical contact.
Nexus told me her dream, how she was locked in the
former Tower 1a, I was in the cell next to her. Packbell
was there, holding a very large gun. He pulled me out
of the cell, and threw me on the floor in front of Nexus.
He then placed the gun against my head, and proceeded
to blow it off! I could see why she was so upset.
Nexus wasn't the only one who had bad dreams, though.
Ty was one, it was similar to Nexus's. Bunnie locked herself
in her hut, and cried for hours. Mike also had a nightmare,
but he refused to talk about it.
By 1200 hours the clouds, or the Inferno as Bryan
called it, had seeped down into the Great Valley. The
UNAF, as well as the village of Greentree, was located
there. A very concerned Commander Tanya Gimble landed
in Knothole, with a plan to send a probe down inside the
Inferno. Sally and Tanya talked for about forty minutes
about the full plan, and agreed to it. Twenty minutes
later, a team of mechanics landed with a box the size of
a small table. They called it Darkstar, a reconacence
droid, which they say was used in some gulf war. Ty
instantly recruited herself to help assemble the machine,
while the others simply stood and waited.
While the mechanics team assembled the droid, another
team landed. This one was security, which almost imeaditly
worried Sally. They brought a small magnetic tape player,
which Mike said he hadn't seen in years. It was a recorded
message from the village of Greentree.
"This is ...reentree calling Base Concord," There was a
burst of static. "omething coming from the south...louds.
It's terrible. Everybody's dead...the only one left.
It's here. It killed them all. It's goin' to kill me...you've
gotta' help me." There was a loud *thump*, and a painful
scream, followed by the sound of tearing flesh.
The room was very quiet after this. No one moved,
no one said anything. We were afraid to. One of the
soldiers explained that they had received the message
less than an hour ago. When they tried to respond, they
got no answer. Thinking quickly, they brought it up here.
Sally put us on a silence conspiracy, we weren't aloud
to tell anyone what we had heard.
In the mean time, the UNAF sent Darkstar down into
the Inferno, hoping to find what killed the man on the
radio. At about 1500 hours, Darkstar entered Inferno.
We, the same people who heard the Greentree message, gathered
around a small monitor, watching the landscape unfold
before us.
Everyone was dead.
At first no one could believe it, they refused to.
But, all of us came to accept that every one was dead.
The huts were burnt to the ground, charred bodies hung
on the skeletons of the buildings. The bodies were incomplete,
some missing legs, some, arms. There were even some without
heads. I felt sick, but oddly, I didn't want to leave.
Darkstar suddenly swerved, and began to spiral towards the
ground. Tanya tried fiercely to bring it under control;
Darkstar slammed itself into the ground, and then pulled
back into the air. Again, the craft hit the ground, and
dug it self in. With one last terrifying view of the village,
the camera on the plane flickered, and died.
Again, silence. This was bigger than any of us thought.
Tanya instantly demanded the tape of the Darkstar flight,
to see what took down the craft. As she was reviewing
it, she made a frightening discovery.
"Wait," She said to the controller, who imeaditly halted
the tape. Tanya pointed to a small dot on the screen.
"Can you enlarge this?" She asked the operator. He did.
"Keep going," said Tanya, very interested in the object.
The operator zoomed the camera closer, until the object
was just a dark smudge on the screen. "Enhance it, please."
The controller hit a few keys, and the object began to
become clear.
It was another body. "Can you advance a few frames?"
The body began to move. Not in the dying person style,
it was walking. It was walking very smoothly. But, no
matter how much the body was enhanced, no clear features
could be made out. The resolution was clear enough to
look at the texture of the bark on the trees around it,
but the body's figure was unintelligible.
By 1700 hours, the Inferno was moving up the side
of the cliff.
Sally called a full evacuation.
Day 2
The dream was unlike all the others I've had. It was
terrifying, like a glimpse into the future. I saw a city,
like one of the one's Bryan told me about. There were cars,
buses, people, moving and working just as Bryan had described
them. I saw children playing in a park. They had no
idea what was about to happen.
It was like an extremely bright strobe light, but,
somehow I could see. The cloud rose a mile, it was shaped
like a mushroom. A mushroom cloud. The heat hit everybody
at the same time, shriveling their bodies, killing them
all. The shock wave came almost imeaditly after, tearing
the cars off the freeway, ripping the buildings apart,
and wiping out the entire city.
I awoke covered with cold sweat. And, again, all
around the camp, people were having nightmares. This
time, I just didn't care. I had my own problems, as
selfish as it sounded, but it was true. My goal was to
get as far away from Knothole as I possibly could. But,
I was there.
Sally posted us on the Floating Island.
At noon, Sally sent a rescue mission into the Inferno,
to get those who didn't get out right away. Sir Kain lead
the first group, which consisted of him, Ryan, Mike, and Bryan.
The other group was lead by a human from the UNAF. I didn't
know anyone in the second group. They left in two shuttles.
Only one came back. Bryan and Sir Kain were slumped in
the passenger area, Ryan piloted the ship. All three looked
exhausted. They wouldn't talk about what happened.
Sally placed a sign-up sheet on a nearby tree, this
mission would be voluntary. Bryan signed up imeaditly,
followed by Sir Kain, Ryan, and Sigma. I did, too. I
felt sorry for Bryan, he had lost his best friend, and
only living memory of Earth. Bryan was trying his best
to hide his feelings, but they were slipping through. He
looked vengeful, and it scared me.
I remembered the time Sally told me about Zero. It
seems that Bryan has a mild case of split personalities.
He requires an object, or a certain feeling, or both,
to trigger the effect. Bryan died of the Fateless virus.
He was only dead for about ten minutes, his body was
resetting itself. When he came to, he had no recollection
of his life before, just fabrications of others'. He
helped track down and kill spies working for Packbell.
And he called himself Zero. That was the look he had
on his face.
I tented alone that night. I had no dreams.
Day 3
I awoke early that morning, and spent the morning just
thinking. I thought about my life, how I spent 11 years in the void,
how I was fortunate enough to make it back alive, how
the Inferno suddenly changed my view on life. Things
were happening down there, things that couldn't possibly
be good. And I thought about Nexus, the feelings I had
for her. I never told her I was going down into the Inferno.
I never told her that I may not make it back. I never
told her how much I cared for her at that moment.
I was placed on Sir Kain's team, which consisted of
Ryan, Bryan, MD, Furball, Wedge, and me. The other team
was commanded by Geoffrey St. John, which consisted of
the rest of Sigma, save EG. As we were being shuttled
down to the landing site, I glanced over at Bryan, who
looked quite frightened.
"What's wrong," I asked.
He looked at me with the most guilt-stricken look I
have ever seen.
"Jay," he said to me, "some of us aren't coming back
from this mission."
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"We're not going down there to rescue anybody, they're
all dead. We're going down to recover the bodies. Jay,
this is very serious. I don't expect to live down there
for more than an hour. That all the time we have. One
hour to find five bodies. One hour to find five WHOLE
bodies..."
What ever Bryan said after that just rang hollow in
my hears, I blacked out.
When I came to my senses, I was leaning against a
tree, Bryan trying to move me. He said something very
rushed, and hit me a few times. After I was fully
awake, he pulled me to my feet, and screamed "THEY'RE COMING!"
into my ear. We fled to a nearby hut, where Ryan and Sir Kain
were already hiding. They weren't alone.
On a table in the back was a body. It was Mike. He
had been cut from the top of his torso, down to the groin
area. His organs were taken out, and all were missing,
except his heart. It was on the table in front of him.
It was still beating.
It was still beating!
On cue, there was a groan from the body. Mike sat up,
and opened his eye lids. He had no eyes!
At this point, I couldn't take anymore, fled from the
hut, and vomited in some nearby bushes. Blaster shots rang
inside the hut, and, very slowly, Bryan, Sir Kain, and Ryan
left the building. They slumped down next to me. I noticed
Bryan had a very large cut on his cheek. He explained that
when he had tried to help Mike, Mike tried to kill him.
They killed the body.
We met up with the rest of the groups 15 minutes later
in an abandoned hut. And we waited. Nothing came. And we
waited for an hour, and nothing came. After about three
hours, Bryan finally became impatient, and took St. John
and Tails with him to find a radio. They never came back.
Taking a very large gun with me, I went out to find them.
After about ten minutes of searching, I a came to a
hut with it's door blow open. Cautiously, I made my way
inside. I stepped in the remains of some poor soul.
The fur was scattered out around the room, it was black,
with white streaks. There was a green blood stained scarf
in the corner. It was Geoffrey St. John.
Moving closer into the room, I discovered Tails.
Blood mixed with his orange and white fur. I checked
his pulse. He was dead. A moan came from the far corner
of the room. I moved closer, my gun drawn.
It was Bryan. He lay on his back, clutching his chest.
He was bleeding very badly.
"Bryan, what happened," I asked.
"The little prick tried to kill me," his voice was
just above a whisper. He smiled. Bryan was crazy.
"You need help," I said, trying to lift him.
"You don't get it, Jay. It's too late for me." He
closed his eyes. "It's been real." And he died. I sat
back, still holding Bryan in my arms. At least four
people were dead, and I knew I would go soon.
I got back to the clearing just as the last of the
landing shuttles took off. A human helicopter was left,
Ty was waving me in.
"Where's Furball?" she shouted over the drone of the
chopper.
"I thought he was with you," I said back. Ty shook
her head. I turned back to go find him, but she pulled
me back.
"It's too dangerous." With that, the door slid shut,
and the copter lifted off the ground.
Day 4
Nexus was dead when I got back. They said the cause
was very extraordinary, a massive nervous system failure.
I didn't think suck a thing could exist, but it did. I
spent the rest of the night in shock, not crying, just
in shock. Nexus had been my first real friend, I could
tell her anything. Now she was dead.
I wasn't the only one that lost some one, though. I
walked past a makeshift operating room, one the humans
had setup. Odyssey was on the table. She was dead before
I walked by. Ty was holding MD in her arms, who was crying
hysterically.
And the casualty list was huge. Bryan, Tails, St. John,
Wedge, Mike, the first rescue team, and Furball. All
were dead.
I was so caught up with all this that I hardly noticed
some one walk up behind me.
"I'm sorry about Nexus," she said. It was Foxy.
I nodded, but said nothing.
"They just found MD's body, he killed himself."
Nothing.
"Jay, did you hear me? MD is dead. He blew his
brains out! Jay, people are dying!"
"I know," I said. "I'm going back down." I told
her, almost proudly.
"You can't!" Foxy yelped. "You'll be killed!"
"I have nothing left." I was saying this very calmly,
and it scared me.
Foxy took my hand. "Jay, stay here. You have friends
here."
I just shook my head. "They're all dead. I have nothing
left." And with that, I stood, and left.
Ty was in the weapon room when I got there, mumbling
about something. She hardly noticed me when I came in,
and pulled a gun on me.
"I'm going down," I told her. She lowered the gun,
which was pressed against my head. Ty said nothing, handed
me a very large gun, and motioned me to follow her. We
entered a landing craft, and ventured down into the Inferno.
Our landing had been expected. When we touched down,
the craft was instantly surrounded. It was surrounded
by people, all of the them were deformed. They were missing
limbs, some were missing eyes, others had been disemboweled.
Every thing else was a blur, what I remember is just
bits and pieces. I know a few shots were fired.
They lead us to an abandoned hut, and left us there.
After about ten minutes, I passed out from pain.
I awoke some time later, Ty curled up at my side.
She was shaking and whimpering, which was odd for Ty.
She was scared, and nothing scared her.
I then noticed the figure in the corner, which, I
assumed, had been standing there for quite some time.
It was Furball. I sighed when I saw him, I was glad
he was still alive. He cautiously approached us, he had
always been timid.
"Hello Mr. Adraan," he said, "It's good to see you
again."
I could feel the blood run out of my face.
Furball was talking!
At this point, I realized that Furball was no longer
in existence.
"I've been expecting you."
I was shaking now, I was truly frightened. I tried
to say anything that would communicate with the thing
inside Furball.
"Leave us alone," I whimpered. That was the best I
could do.
The thing turned away from us, and laughed under
it's breath.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. I have . . .plans for
you two."
"What have you done to Furball," I demanded in the
best voice I could. It still sounded pretty weak.
"Hmmm? Oh, you mean Tycho," It smiled. "Tycho is
fine, for now. He makes a great host, Mr. Adraan. He
is. . .special, for a lack of better words. He can see
things others can't, he can hear things others can't.
Pity the others, Mr. Adraan. Pity the others before Tycho,
the others that weren't strong enough for me."
"The others?" I whimpered.
"The first one was a rat, Mike I think his name was.
He killed himself trying to get me out. Miles the fox,
he was next. He couldn't handle me, and lashed out in a
blind rage. I didn't kill hi, though, the wolf did that.
I left just before they killed each other. Then there
was the girl, I believe you knew her, Mr. Adraan."
"Nexus," I whispered, rage building up inside of me.
"You did!" The thing squealed with delight.
"You bustard!" I growled. Ty tightened her grip on
me, trying to keep me from doing anything irrational.
The room was quiet for several seconds, before the
thing spoke again.
"Well, then, you two have work to do." He motioned
for us to follow him.
I stood, but Ty stayed where she was. Her ankle was twisted
in an odd way. The thing saw this, and came over.
"Well, this is not going to do," It said, frustrated.
"Let her go," I said without thinking. Ty looked at
me, as if to say, "What the hell are you thinking?".
"Let her go," I repeated. "Trade her for some one
else, keep me here, just let her go."
The thing thought for a second, then said, "She may go,"
It's voice was softer, as if some one else had taken over,
"But you, Mr. Adraan, will stay."
The landing craft came half an hour later. As it
was touching down, Ty whispered to me, "Run, right now.
Leave this place, I'll send another landing craft to get you."
"I can't," I whispered back," It'll know."
The craft landed softly on the ground, and the door
slid open. A female cat stepped out, and helped Ty in. The door slid shut, and the craft left.
I was alone.
"Come along, Mr. Adraan. YOU have work to do." The
thing said.
I was lead past workers, people I had known, people
who were alive not a week ago. Their bodies were there,
they weren't. In fact, their bodies were going, too.
Some were missing limbs, some had been disemboweled, some
were missing eyes. And it seemed I shared their fate.
I was wrong, though. I was lead into a hut with
multiple rooms, and place in the one in the very middle.
Slowly, the door shut, and I began to work.
Day 5
The room I was in had, simply, a table, a chair, a candle,
a stack of paper, and a type writer. My instructions
were simple; type what you had seen. I have been. It seems
like I've been doing it for hours, maybe even a day.
I'm tired, I haven't slept in almost 24 hours. My
fingers hurt, my eyes hurt, my entire body aches. I
know I'm going to die. I should have listened to Foxy,
I wasn't thinking rationally then. Perhaps, though, I was
being influenced. Maybe we all were.
I once heard a saying that went, "Did God create man,
or did man create God?" Up until now, I believed the latter. This
is a different time, now. Maybe there is a higher power.
If there is, though, it's not interested in caring for us.
It makes sense, the innocent victims, the sense less killings,
the questions that weren't asked.
I don't know what the thing is in Furball, I can only
give an educated guess. It appears to be a parasite,
feeding off the person somehow. It is far more intelligent
than any of us on this planet. It also seems to feed off
of pain, also.
Oh, god. There's two of them, the mindless slaves for the
thing. They're behind me, they're just waiting. I don't
know what for, but it can't possibly be good. It is clear
to me that my time here is running down. I'd better
finish this very soon.
This was written by Jeremy Kyle Adra
By Grant Cravens
Forward and Legal Crap.
This story borders fan fiction and a plain furry story
(sonic is never mentioned, but others are in it).
This story takes place as the alternate ending for my
Sonic the Hedgehog fan fiction series. There are some
characters in this story that are not found in the StH
comic books or cartoon series. Some of the words and
phrases may be different to some people, i.e. religious
figures may or may not be capitalized, depending on the
characters using these words. And, to make things
easier, they will be listed by name.
I'd like to 'thank' Wedge, for helping me edit this.
If you wish to contact me, my email is
INSNR8@mindless.com.
Charactes by Grant Cravens
Jeremy Kyle Adraan
Age: 15
Species: Fox, male
Background: Was trapped in the void with King Acorn for
11 years of his life. He just recently made in back onto Mobius, and helped the Freedom Fighters take
down Packbell.
Tanya Gimble
Age: 30
Species: Human, female
Background: Commander of the UNAF (United Nations Armed
Forces) from Earth. Helped Freedom Fighters take down Packbell.
Nexus
Age: 15
Species: Coyote, female
Background: Nexus is an orphan from the general region
of south Mobius. She is relitivly unknown in Knothole,
and is friend to Jeremy.
Odyssey
Age: 14
Species: Lynx, female
Background: Resident of Tails' native village, Bluebrook,
and girlfriend of M.D. Windward. Member of Sigma.
Tycho "Furball" Reznor
Age: 11
Species: Cat, male
Background: Vocal cords were taken out by Robotnik as a
reminder of his power. He is shy, and often is by
himself. Member of Sigma.
Bryan Taylor
Age: 14
Species: Wolf, male
Background: Very little is known about Bryan. All that
is known is he is from Earth, and is a very good friend
of Mike Fuhr. Leader of the air team, Sigma.
Ty Unix
Age: 14
Species: Wolf/fox, female
Background: From the village Greentree, Ty is an expert
mechanic. Her brother was killed by Packbell. Girlfriend
and soul mate to Bryan Taylor. Member of Sigma.
By Wedge Dantillies
Wedge Dantillies
Age: 15
Species: Fox/flying squirrel, male
Background: Wedge is a drifter, and an orphan. He is
relitivly unknown in Knothole.
By Tre Duffy
Mike Fuhr
Age: 14
Species: Rat, male
Background: Very little is known about Mike, also. He
is the friend of Bryan, and also from Earth. Member of
Sigma.
By Casey Bennett
M.D. Windward
Age: 14
Species: Flying Squirrel, male
Background: MD's family lived in Axis Station, by the
Great Unknown. They were killed by MD's best friend.
MD is now suicidal. Member of Sigma.
By Leia Weathington
Foxy Quicksilver
Age: 15
Species: Fox, female
Background: Foxy was a member of the Mobius Bounty
Hunter Legion. She helped the Freedom Fighters with
negotiations with the UNAF.
By Eric Goodwin
Sir Kain
By Ryan Huber
Ryan Huber
By David Pistone
Commander Packbell
Other members of Sigma
Artie Prower by Mike Reves
EG Foxfire by Carol Schneeweiss
Tiffany Fox by Besch Rose
Azy by Jessica Heyl
By Sega, Archie Comics, and DiC
Miles "Tails" Prower
Bunnie Rabbot
Sally Acorn
Dr. Robotnik
Geoffrey St. John
Inferno
This whole thing started four days ago, jesus, it
seems like longer. No one really expected anything, it
had appeared as dark clouds on the horizon. It scared
the hell out of me, truthfully. They seemed so harmless
as they stirred ominously over the mountain range, but
I felt something in them. It was a feeling like no other,
like I had been hit in the stomach one to many times.
Day 1
I knew something was wrong that morning, I awoke at
six. The sun wasn't even up yet, but I was wide awake.
And there was that feeling. After trying to fall back
asleep for an hour, I left my hut, and began to wander
the village.
Everything seemed usual, except for the fact that
no one was around. Everyone was asleep, Knothole looked
like a ghost town. But, everything else was normal. I
glanced into Bryan's hut (the door was open), to find Ty
curled in a tight ball next to him. Ty would do that to
him, she'd slip into his hut while he was asleep, and fall
asleep next to him. Nothing ever happened, Ty would just
sleep, an opportunity to be close to Bryan. And, of course,
Bryan never minded.
I stopped by Nexus' hut, and peered in. She was sleeping
peacefully in her bed. I had begun to feel close to Nexus
lately, but she doesn't know yet. And I wanted to be close,
but I didn't know what to do, or say. I just ended up acting
like an idiot around her. But I wanted to be close to her,
to feel her fur against mine.
I sighed wishfully, when I noticed Tails standing by
the cliff. He was holding a pair of binoculars, which
he used to peer out towards the mountains.
"Something's not right, Jay," He said to me, as I
walked to him. He didn't even turn his head. "Those clouds,
I have a bad feeling about them."
I did too, but said nothing. By 0800 hours, everybody
was up in Knothole and stirring about. Nexus found me,
and, much to my surprise wrapped her arms around me. She
was crying.
"I had the worst dream," She told me, burying her face
into my neck. I, of course, was only half listening. I
was enjoying the physical contact.
Nexus told me her dream, how she was locked in the
former Tower 1a, I was in the cell next to her. Packbell
was there, holding a very large gun. He pulled me out
of the cell, and threw me on the floor in front of Nexus.
He then placed the gun against my head, and proceeded
to blow it off! I could see why she was so upset.
Nexus wasn't the only one who had bad dreams, though.
Ty was one, it was similar to Nexus's. Bunnie locked herself
in her hut, and cried for hours. Mike also had a nightmare,
but he refused to talk about it.
By 1200 hours the clouds, or the Inferno as Bryan
called it, had seeped down into the Great Valley. The
UNAF, as well as the village of Greentree, was located
there. A very concerned Commander Tanya Gimble landed
in Knothole, with a plan to send a probe down inside the
Inferno. Sally and Tanya talked for about forty minutes
about the full plan, and agreed to it. Twenty minutes
later, a team of mechanics landed with a box the size of
a small table. They called it Darkstar, a reconacence
droid, which they say was used in some gulf war. Ty
instantly recruited herself to help assemble the machine,
while the others simply stood and waited.
While the mechanics team assembled the droid, another
team landed. This one was security, which almost imeaditly
worried Sally. They brought a small magnetic tape player,
which Mike said he hadn't seen in years. It was a recorded
message from the village of Greentree.
"This is ...reentree calling Base Concord," There was a
burst of static. "omething coming from the south...louds.
It's terrible. Everybody's dead...the only one left.
It's here. It killed them all. It's goin' to kill me...you've
gotta' help me." There was a loud *thump*, and a painful
scream, followed by the sound of tearing flesh.
The room was very quiet after this. No one moved,
no one said anything. We were afraid to. One of the
soldiers explained that they had received the message
less than an hour ago. When they tried to respond, they
got no answer. Thinking quickly, they brought it up here.
Sally put us on a silence conspiracy, we weren't aloud
to tell anyone what we had heard.
In the mean time, the UNAF sent Darkstar down into
the Inferno, hoping to find what killed the man on the
radio. At about 1500 hours, Darkstar entered Inferno.
We, the same people who heard the Greentree message, gathered
around a small monitor, watching the landscape unfold
before us.
Everyone was dead.
At first no one could believe it, they refused to.
But, all of us came to accept that every one was dead.
The huts were burnt to the ground, charred bodies hung
on the skeletons of the buildings. The bodies were incomplete,
some missing legs, some, arms. There were even some without
heads. I felt sick, but oddly, I didn't want to leave.
Darkstar suddenly swerved, and began to spiral towards the
ground. Tanya tried fiercely to bring it under control;
Darkstar slammed itself into the ground, and then pulled
back into the air. Again, the craft hit the ground, and
dug it self in. With one last terrifying view of the village,
the camera on the plane flickered, and died.
Again, silence. This was bigger than any of us thought.
Tanya instantly demanded the tape of the Darkstar flight,
to see what took down the craft. As she was reviewing
it, she made a frightening discovery.
"Wait," She said to the controller, who imeaditly halted
the tape. Tanya pointed to a small dot on the screen.
"Can you enlarge this?" She asked the operator. He did.
"Keep going," said Tanya, very interested in the object.
The operator zoomed the camera closer, until the object
was just a dark smudge on the screen. "Enhance it, please."
The controller hit a few keys, and the object began to
become clear.
It was another body. "Can you advance a few frames?"
The body began to move. Not in the dying person style,
it was walking. It was walking very smoothly. But, no
matter how much the body was enhanced, no clear features
could be made out. The resolution was clear enough to
look at the texture of the bark on the trees around it,
but the body's figure was unintelligible.
By 1700 hours, the Inferno was moving up the side
of the cliff.
Sally called a full evacuation.
Day 2
The dream was unlike all the others I've had. It was
terrifying, like a glimpse into the future. I saw a city,
like one of the one's Bryan told me about. There were cars,
buses, people, moving and working just as Bryan had described
them. I saw children playing in a park. They had no
idea what was about to happen.
It was like an extremely bright strobe light, but,
somehow I could see. The cloud rose a mile, it was shaped
like a mushroom. A mushroom cloud. The heat hit everybody
at the same time, shriveling their bodies, killing them
all. The shock wave came almost imeaditly after, tearing
the cars off the freeway, ripping the buildings apart,
and wiping out the entire city.
I awoke covered with cold sweat. And, again, all
around the camp, people were having nightmares. This
time, I just didn't care. I had my own problems, as
selfish as it sounded, but it was true. My goal was to
get as far away from Knothole as I possibly could. But,
I was there.
Sally posted us on the Floating Island.
At noon, Sally sent a rescue mission into the Inferno,
to get those who didn't get out right away. Sir Kain lead
the first group, which consisted of him, Ryan, Mike, and Bryan.
The other group was lead by a human from the UNAF. I didn't
know anyone in the second group. They left in two shuttles.
Only one came back. Bryan and Sir Kain were slumped in
the passenger area, Ryan piloted the ship. All three looked
exhausted. They wouldn't talk about what happened.
Sally placed a sign-up sheet on a nearby tree, this
mission would be voluntary. Bryan signed up imeaditly,
followed by Sir Kain, Ryan, and Sigma. I did, too. I
felt sorry for Bryan, he had lost his best friend, and
only living memory of Earth. Bryan was trying his best
to hide his feelings, but they were slipping through. He
looked vengeful, and it scared me.
I remembered the time Sally told me about Zero. It
seems that Bryan has a mild case of split personalities.
He requires an object, or a certain feeling, or both,
to trigger the effect. Bryan died of the Fateless virus.
He was only dead for about ten minutes, his body was
resetting itself. When he came to, he had no recollection
of his life before, just fabrications of others'. He
helped track down and kill spies working for Packbell.
And he called himself Zero. That was the look he had
on his face.
I tented alone that night. I had no dreams.
Day 3
I awoke early that morning, and spent the morning just
thinking. I thought about my life, how I spent 11 years in the void,
how I was fortunate enough to make it back alive, how
the Inferno suddenly changed my view on life. Things
were happening down there, things that couldn't possibly
be good. And I thought about Nexus, the feelings I had
for her. I never told her I was going down into the Inferno.
I never told her that I may not make it back. I never
told her how much I cared for her at that moment.
I was placed on Sir Kain's team, which consisted of
Ryan, Bryan, MD, Furball, Wedge, and me. The other team
was commanded by Geoffrey St. John, which consisted of
the rest of Sigma, save EG. As we were being shuttled
down to the landing site, I glanced over at Bryan, who
looked quite frightened.
"What's wrong," I asked.
He looked at me with the most guilt-stricken look I
have ever seen.
"Jay," he said to me, "some of us aren't coming back
from this mission."
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"We're not going down there to rescue anybody, they're
all dead. We're going down to recover the bodies. Jay,
this is very serious. I don't expect to live down there
for more than an hour. That all the time we have. One
hour to find five bodies. One hour to find five WHOLE
bodies..."
What ever Bryan said after that just rang hollow in
my hears, I blacked out.
When I came to my senses, I was leaning against a
tree, Bryan trying to move me. He said something very
rushed, and hit me a few times. After I was fully
awake, he pulled me to my feet, and screamed "THEY'RE COMING!"
into my ear. We fled to a nearby hut, where Ryan and Sir Kain
were already hiding. They weren't alone.
On a table in the back was a body. It was Mike. He
had been cut from the top of his torso, down to the groin
area. His organs were taken out, and all were missing,
except his heart. It was on the table in front of him.
It was still beating.
It was still beating!
On cue, there was a groan from the body. Mike sat up,
and opened his eye lids. He had no eyes!
At this point, I couldn't take anymore, fled from the
hut, and vomited in some nearby bushes. Blaster shots rang
inside the hut, and, very slowly, Bryan, Sir Kain, and Ryan
left the building. They slumped down next to me. I noticed
Bryan had a very large cut on his cheek. He explained that
when he had tried to help Mike, Mike tried to kill him.
They killed the body.
We met up with the rest of the groups 15 minutes later
in an abandoned hut. And we waited. Nothing came. And we
waited for an hour, and nothing came. After about three
hours, Bryan finally became impatient, and took St. John
and Tails with him to find a radio. They never came back.
Taking a very large gun with me, I went out to find them.
After about ten minutes of searching, I a came to a
hut with it's door blow open. Cautiously, I made my way
inside. I stepped in the remains of some poor soul.
The fur was scattered out around the room, it was black,
with white streaks. There was a green blood stained scarf
in the corner. It was Geoffrey St. John.
Moving closer into the room, I discovered Tails.
Blood mixed with his orange and white fur. I checked
his pulse. He was dead. A moan came from the far corner
of the room. I moved closer, my gun drawn.
It was Bryan. He lay on his back, clutching his chest.
He was bleeding very badly.
"Bryan, what happened," I asked.
"The little prick tried to kill me," his voice was
just above a whisper. He smiled. Bryan was crazy.
"You need help," I said, trying to lift him.
"You don't get it, Jay. It's too late for me." He
closed his eyes. "It's been real." And he died. I sat
back, still holding Bryan in my arms. At least four
people were dead, and I knew I would go soon.
I got back to the clearing just as the last of the
landing shuttles took off. A human helicopter was left,
Ty was waving me in.
"Where's Furball?" she shouted over the drone of the
chopper.
"I thought he was with you," I said back. Ty shook
her head. I turned back to go find him, but she pulled
me back.
"It's too dangerous." With that, the door slid shut,
and the copter lifted off the ground.
Day 4
Nexus was dead when I got back. They said the cause
was very extraordinary, a massive nervous system failure.
I didn't think suck a thing could exist, but it did. I
spent the rest of the night in shock, not crying, just
in shock. Nexus had been my first real friend, I could
tell her anything. Now she was dead.
I wasn't the only one that lost some one, though. I
walked past a makeshift operating room, one the humans
had setup. Odyssey was on the table. She was dead before
I walked by. Ty was holding MD in her arms, who was crying
hysterically.
And the casualty list was huge. Bryan, Tails, St. John,
Wedge, Mike, the first rescue team, and Furball. All
were dead.
I was so caught up with all this that I hardly noticed
some one walk up behind me.
"I'm sorry about Nexus," she said. It was Foxy.
I nodded, but said nothing.
"They just found MD's body, he killed himself."
Nothing.
"Jay, did you hear me? MD is dead. He blew his
brains out! Jay, people are dying!"
"I know," I said. "I'm going back down." I told
her, almost proudly.
"You can't!" Foxy yelped. "You'll be killed!"
"I have nothing left." I was saying this very calmly,
and it scared me.
Foxy took my hand. "Jay, stay here. You have friends
here."
I just shook my head. "They're all dead. I have nothing
left." And with that, I stood, and left.
Ty was in the weapon room when I got there, mumbling
about something. She hardly noticed me when I came in,
and pulled a gun on me.
"I'm going down," I told her. She lowered the gun,
which was pressed against my head. Ty said nothing, handed
me a very large gun, and motioned me to follow her. We
entered a landing craft, and ventured down into the Inferno.
Our landing had been expected. When we touched down,
the craft was instantly surrounded. It was surrounded
by people, all of the them were deformed. They were missing
limbs, some were missing eyes, others had been disemboweled.
Every thing else was a blur, what I remember is just
bits and pieces. I know a few shots were fired.
They lead us to an abandoned hut, and left us there.
After about ten minutes, I passed out from pain.
I awoke some time later, Ty curled up at my side.
She was shaking and whimpering, which was odd for Ty.
She was scared, and nothing scared her.
I then noticed the figure in the corner, which, I
assumed, had been standing there for quite some time.
It was Furball. I sighed when I saw him, I was glad
he was still alive. He cautiously approached us, he had
always been timid.
"Hello Mr. Adraan," he said, "It's good to see you
again."
I could feel the blood run out of my face.
Furball was talking!
At this point, I realized that Furball was no longer
in existence.
"I've been expecting you."
I was shaking now, I was truly frightened. I tried
to say anything that would communicate with the thing
inside Furball.
"Leave us alone," I whimpered. That was the best I
could do.
The thing turned away from us, and laughed under
it's breath.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. I have . . .plans for
you two."
"What have you done to Furball," I demanded in the
best voice I could. It still sounded pretty weak.
"Hmmm? Oh, you mean Tycho," It smiled. "Tycho is
fine, for now. He makes a great host, Mr. Adraan. He
is. . .special, for a lack of better words. He can see
things others can't, he can hear things others can't.
Pity the others, Mr. Adraan. Pity the others before Tycho,
the others that weren't strong enough for me."
"The others?" I whimpered.
"The first one was a rat, Mike I think his name was.
He killed himself trying to get me out. Miles the fox,
he was next. He couldn't handle me, and lashed out in a
blind rage. I didn't kill hi, though, the wolf did that.
I left just before they killed each other. Then there
was the girl, I believe you knew her, Mr. Adraan."
"Nexus," I whispered, rage building up inside of me.
"You did!" The thing squealed with delight.
"You bustard!" I growled. Ty tightened her grip on
me, trying to keep me from doing anything irrational.
The room was quiet for several seconds, before the
thing spoke again.
"Well, then, you two have work to do." He motioned
for us to follow him.
I stood, but Ty stayed where she was. Her ankle was twisted
in an odd way. The thing saw this, and came over.
"Well, this is not going to do," It said, frustrated.
"Let her go," I said without thinking. Ty looked at
me, as if to say, "What the hell are you thinking?".
"Let her go," I repeated. "Trade her for some one
else, keep me here, just let her go."
The thing thought for a second, then said, "She may go,"
It's voice was softer, as if some one else had taken over,
"But you, Mr. Adraan, will stay."
The landing craft came half an hour later. As it
was touching down, Ty whispered to me, "Run, right now.
Leave this place, I'll send another landing craft to get you."
"I can't," I whispered back," It'll know."
The craft landed softly on the ground, and the door
slid open. A female cat stepped out, and helped Ty in. The door slid shut, and the craft left.
I was alone.
"Come along, Mr. Adraan. YOU have work to do." The
thing said.
I was lead past workers, people I had known, people
who were alive not a week ago. Their bodies were there,
they weren't. In fact, their bodies were going, too.
Some were missing limbs, some had been disemboweled, some
were missing eyes. And it seemed I shared their fate.
I was wrong, though. I was lead into a hut with
multiple rooms, and place in the one in the very middle.
Slowly, the door shut, and I began to work.
Day 5
The room I was in had, simply, a table, a chair, a candle,
a stack of paper, and a type writer. My instructions
were simple; type what you had seen. I have been. It seems
like I've been doing it for hours, maybe even a day.
I'm tired, I haven't slept in almost 24 hours. My
fingers hurt, my eyes hurt, my entire body aches. I
know I'm going to die. I should have listened to Foxy,
I wasn't thinking rationally then. Perhaps, though, I was
being influenced. Maybe we all were.
I once heard a saying that went, "Did God create man,
or did man create God?" Up until now, I believed the latter. This
is a different time, now. Maybe there is a higher power.
If there is, though, it's not interested in caring for us.
It makes sense, the innocent victims, the sense less killings,
the questions that weren't asked.
I don't know what the thing is in Furball, I can only
give an educated guess. It appears to be a parasite,
feeding off the person somehow. It is far more intelligent
than any of us on this planet. It also seems to feed off
of pain, also.
Oh, god. There's two of them, the mindless slaves for the
thing. They're behind me, they're just waiting. I don't
know what for, but it can't possibly be good. It is clear
to me that my time here is running down. I'd better
finish this very soon.
This was written by Jeremy Kyle Adra