Feedback link: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=80556 Please comment on story through that! Prologue [Entering database. Acess Granted_] [File selected: 1-A-5_] [Error: Corrupted file. Attempting to recover_] [~4% voice file recovered. ~3% visual media found. Playing voice only_] A:"What do you mean you've found a cure! That is immune to everything! ... Oh. Jeez. I'd better hurry over." [Error. File missing. Continuing later in file with voice only_] A: "So how'd you do it?" B: "I just tried using a different sequence and it worked!" A: "This... Is amazing. I can't wait to see what the league will give you in return." B: "Me too." A: "Does it have any side effects?" B: "Well... I mean... Just one." A: "Is it bad?" B: "It can kill someone. If you fuse them wi#*_•*#~•%_%~•, then they won't die from the side affect." A: "Have you tested this on people?" B: "Follow me, and i will-" [Error: File not recognized. Play?_] [Playing file_] Cages line each of the walls. They are twice the height of a normal person, and are twenty feet wide each. The camera is a fixed angel, and two men come into view. They are about five feet six, and wearing lab coats. Neither face is within the camera's gaze. A: "Jesus Christ! How did you- these are abominations!" The man gets close to the cage, and a giant lizard goes to the edge. It stands on two legs, and tries reaching out. C: "Help... Me...." The monster drops to the ground, still confined to his cage. A: "I'v- I've got to tell them what you've done here! This is insanity!" B: "I've worked too hard to be stopped here." A: "What do you mean?" The second man pulls out a knife, and lunges towards the one at the cage. He pulls away quickly, but then trips as he attempts to turn. Then, after that, the man scrambles to his feet. It fixes upon that picture. [Error: File corruption. Continuing with next sequence_] Both men's body is lying on the ground, oozing with blood, and the cage is open in the backround. [File complete. Turning off system_] [Secondary file found. Scanning for viruses_] [Error: File may be corrupted. Continue to play?_] [Playing file. Full audio and video found_] The camera is shifted. Someone in a lab coat is talking in the backround distantly. A: "Is it on?" The person goes into the view of the camera. She has long blonde hair, glasses, and has bags lining her eyes. She squints back, then sighs and takes a deep breath. A: "Well, they might break in at any time. If there are any humans left, please, LISTEN CAREFULLY. They all have a weakness. They can't function *]_[#]_~^*{k them. Even the smallest can be deadly. I need help, if anybody understands this," She holds up a lightbulb, "then find me. I've sent the coordinates, just, hurry. Please." There is a noise, and she glances back in fear. The girl proceeds to shut off the computer. [File completed.] The screen goes blank.
Part 1 The screen blanks out, and i slam my fist on the table. "Did you get the computer on your plug?" I turned, asking. The man behind me is at least foot taller than me, and is tan like nobody's buisness. He chuckles, and then replies, "Why wouldn't i? Most of the files are just corrupt now. I'm uploading the junk to you that wasn't, so chill." The man puts away his laptop, then glances at the door. He sighs, and grabs his jet black hair, trying to relieve his stress. "Me? Heh, maybe you should look in a mirror." I retort, laughing to myself. The computer screen begins to flicker, and it suddenly glows a bright blue. I stare hard, "Hey, what does that mean?" Asking, my finger points at the screen, which now spews random numbers. "Well," My friend begins, "Those are codes for the problems on the computer. It looks like almost all of the material on it has been infected with a virus, we are lucky to have gotten any material." The screen turns to red, and displays the following numbers: 71-09-32-14-57-68-00. "And this means..." I examine my friend's expression, which os somewhere between confused and shocked. "I'm not sure, but it looks important." He glares at me, and orders, "No remark from you. Don't tell me you didn't think it." My friend grabs a pen and paper, then he proceeds to jot down the digits. There is a knock on the door. "That's our que to leave!" I panic, and quickly gather my things. We start toward a side door, there is a voice on the other side. "One minute!" Another voice calls back, and two more men sprint into the room, both holding laptops in one hand and a bag in the other. The first was as tall as me, but looks like he has an attitude as he scratches at his blonde hair. "Ready?" The other man, who is white and pasty, and takes a deep sigh. He rubs his chin, cleaning some food off, then brushes his brown hair around a bit before focusing again. "Yup." The three of us come to a consensus. The knock echoed, but this time it is harder, and sounds belligerent. We then continue through the fire escape, and start rushing outside. Noises trail our movement. "This way!" Voices call after us, "They are close!" "Dang it." The brown haired man curses, and then finishes his statement, "James, take them through the sewers." He points at a small tunnel nearby. "Do i have to...?" The blonde replies, and takes in a deep breath. He turns to me, and then says, "Follow me." My friend goes right behind, while i am at the end of the line, and we go into the tunnel.
Part 2 We struggle through the sludge of the sewer, and it stinks. Bad. I finally start plugging my nose. "Hey," James laughs, "Something smells wrong?" My friend glares at James, and answers, "We all don't live in a pig sty." James's expression drops, and he shuts up. We continue on the path, and a dim light shinea behind us. "He didn't make it?" James whispers to himself, and the light flickers. He chuckles, and explains, "Jake is using morse code." "Jake?" I question, recalling about the brown hair man earlier. "Jake." My friend echos, knowning what i am actually asking. "He'll catch up." James says blankly, "We'll be out in a minute, and back to the slums. We have a meeting and go from there." The sewers seem endless, the stench is almost unbareable. "So earlier," I start to fill the silence, "What was with that clip? And why was she holding a lightbulb?" My friend and James exchange glances, stop in place, and turn around. My friends stares at me, gaping, before mustering the courage to say, "You knew what that thing was?" "Yes." I reply firmly, and i see goosebumps over his skin. "That was a distress call sent two days ago. We are lucky, that scientist is a very smart lady. She may have the key of us overthrowing the Infected." He has a ring of hope in his tone, and i relax. He stared me down, and asked, "How did you know what that was?" "Oh, my dad and mom were infected, so i got a higher education than most." I lie, hoping he can't detect it. "Fair enough." Silence encases the sewers for a while, A light shimmers in a tunnel, and i sigh. "You first James, then he'll go, and finally me." My friend replies, but another man sprints up from the darkness. "Sorry, i had some stuff to do." He explains, and i realize it was Jake, the man earlier. "Here we go." James climbs up the ladder, then me, and then my friend, following is Jake. We scramble for fresh air at the top. Jake smiles and says, "Welcome to the slums."
Part three "Welcome to the slums." I glance around, and stare in horror. The buildings are falling apart, only a few windows have light, with a few people walking about. No one is wearing anything decent. "I guess they aren't called THE slums for nothing." My friend murmurs, and rubs his chin. "The meeting is going to start," Jake told us, "let's hope that they don't show up." He stares at me for a bit, but Jake shook himself out of a trance and proceeds on walking towards a house. It isn't large at all, weeds grew in the yard and sidewalk cracks, the house has a faint yellow color, and a single light was on. We go up, and James knocks on the door. "Password?" A voice mumbles from behind. My friend then knocks six times, pauses, knocks 5 times, whispers something in a chant, and knocks 2. There is a pause, but the door swings open. "So what is this place?" I ask, and Jake laughs like i wam dull. "It's our meeting area for now. The pukies destroyed our last one." The pukies is another name for the Infected, refering to their sickish coloring on their faces, a light green. We waltz in, only to find a makeshift table with twenty or so chairs. "You," My friend points at me, "Sit next to me." He sits down, and i follow his steps. "Well James," Jake laughs as he talks, "We got here a bit early." He sits down, and then another mysterious man sits next to me. "Hi," The man converses with me, "Name's Chris." I smile polietly, and reply to him, "I'm-" "Hey, we are about to start." My friend tells me, and i scan around. It is now alive, filling with many different people. Jake stands up. "Hello all, i'm glad a few people made it back from that last raid. I'm happy to annouce we managed to get MUCH more information than we originally planned." There was a small cheer, and Jake glances at my friend. "We obtained," my friend states as he stands, "Ten files on the computer. Nine are video files being looked over. But one, oh this special one, has a game changer." James stands and continues my friend's phrase, "It contains a weapon that can potentially neutralize any infected with its range. It is not a cure, but it is a major progress." There was more applause. Chris gets up, and begins, "We need two things now. The first, a mysterious doctor. We are currently investigating any and all information, so we will update you. Second, after that raid to get it, we've lost members. We ask everyone to go recruit at least two members in the slums. Dismissed." After he finishes, there is a mass exodus, and my friend stays in his chair so i copy him. He turns and tells me, "Hey, let's go find some people."
Part Four I begin to glance around. It is later in the day and alot more people finally come out from there corners. My friend smirks, and then orders, "Try and get one. But be careful, the infected have spies." I reply with a nod and a smile, passing someone, and bumping into them. "Sorry Miss..." I apologize, and notice she is carrying a box. "Well, it's okay. Just be more careful." She sighs. "What's in the box?" I question. "This? Oh, i'm just carrying it to... Hey, i think i've seen your friend before." She pushes her blonde hair out of her face, and smiles at me with her dark blue eyes, "I think he set you up. I'll see you tonight." She waltzes off into the crowd, and i stroll to my friend. "Don't set me up next time." I wink at him, saying it. "Okay." He winks back, and we both laugh. In the distance, there is a smoke cloud. My friend points it out, explaing, "That's another Overlord raid." I stare at him, and he continues, "The Overlords are basically the high ranked Infected, like the Kings and Queens of their 'Empire'." He scans to see if there is someone watching, then leans in closer, "You are one strange character, friend. I've never seen anyone in years that doesn't know this stuff." "You mean other people haven't either?" I raise an eyebrow. He glances back and forth, and starts to go back. "Come with me." He says sternly, and i follow suit. He starts mumbling something, and Chris walks by. Chris gets behind my friend, and whispers something. "Hey." I call out, but no one is listening. My friend whispers back, and you can see the goosebumps on Chris, he leaves suddenly. "What was that about?" I ask. "Listen, who were your parents again?" My friend questions, pulling out his computer as we walk into a bar. It seems empty and run down. "That doesn't matter and-" I begin, only to be cut off. "It matters entirely," He starts to get pushy, "Now, who were your parents?" "..." I stay silent, not remembering my parents names. "Does Qesa bring back any memories?" He asks, glaring at me. "Do you hear that?" I change topics; partially because i do not want him to know things, and because the vibration hum thing is messing with me. "Crap!" My friend swears, then starts running towards the back, and calls to me, "Come on!" I rush through a door, glancing back as he slams it shut, but he's on the other side. He locks it, and yells, "Keep going! Someone will wait at the end!" I protest, "But you'll be-" "I'll be fine. So go!" There is a click, and i hear a knock. I start running away.
Part Five I start to run. What seems like an endless time, i run. After a while, i feel a body brush by, and i glance. Nothing in the tunnels, but only wood beams and dirt holding it, some of the makeshift lights flickering, and i still run. "Hello?" A voice calls, softly. "Hello?" I reply, following the echo. I hear a faint whisper, and see a figure in the distance. The ground shakes, and the lights shut off and on. "Oh thank god." The voice sounds relief, and i hurry to the person. It is Chris, i barely make out his red hair, the distinguishable feature of him, "Hey Carley, he's okay." Another person gets close, and i see the girl with the box from earlier. "So, where's your friend?" She asks me. I begin, "He stayed behind, an-" The ground shakes, and the lights go out. Wood beams snap, and i hear piles of dirt and rock collapsing. My leg soars with pain. "What the hell?" Chris freaks out, and then relaxes, questioning, "Is everyone okay?" "One second." Carley says, and i hear her going through some bag. I listen to a click, and she has a flashlight that is on, in her hand. "Okay. Carley's good. And... Oh my god." Chris says flatly, looking at me. I stare at my leg, crying. The ceiling collapsed, and it fell on my leg, breaking it. The gruesome image of the bone popping out, i turn away. "How long will it take to get to the base?" Carley turns away, talking to Chris. "Ten minutes." He answers, and walks over to me. Chris begins to take off the rubble from my leg, and i feel a slight moment of joy. "Did anybody else go with you?" I ask Carley. "No." As soon as she replies, another voice calls from the other side. "Hey guys," it says, i know it is James right away, "We ran into some trouble so we blew up part of the tunnel thinking the Infected would find it, but they didn't." "James, you moron!" Chris screeches at him, "You hurt him!" "Shi- I'll be right back. They found it." I hear another murmur, and i realize James, Jake, and my friend are over on that side. "Just what we need..." Chris mumbles, and then puts something under me. I see a strecher under me , with Carely and Chris on each end carrying. The pain pulses in my leg, but i stay silent. After a moment of quietness, i manage to make out light at the end of the tunnel. "Here we are, the main underground base."
Part Six "Here we are, the main underground base." I skim the huge underground complex. Cars bussle in the sky, thin screens flash neon, it looks like 500 years into the future. "So," Carley begins, "Qesa. You were saying...?" "Nothing. I said nothing." I reply sharply. "And the test tubes on the 4th floor? Why did the Infected target those objects, just that?" Chris cuts in, and another person walks up. "Hey guys, James and Jake are captured with. . ." The man, who is short and has a buzz cut light brown hair with dark brown eyes, notices nobody reacts to what he is explaning, "You guys cool?" "Nathan," Chris scolds, "Not now." "Okay, jeez." Nathan replies. "Now, you didn't say your name. But it doesn't matter. What did Qesa have in that room, those tubes, that was so vital?" Chris presses harder. Nathan knows what is going on, so he hurries away. Carely also adds, "Please. Was it a cure for them? You just have to say..." "No." I cut her off. "I can't. What Qesa did to get those results were... I just can't." The last word floats dead in the air and i sigh. "I don't understand," Chris starts, and i glance at him looking confused, "I just can't. This situation is so messed up. But we need to know certain things. Now, what was in those tubes?" "I can't say it." "Then you'll talk in the room." Chris picked me up, and put me inside a car. "Chris, you can't do this!" Carley yells at him. "The room?" I ask, and Carley looks extremely concerned and worried. Chris smiles, and answers, "The room." He gets in the front, and starts to drive. Carley throws stuff at the car and screams, but we are gone from her sight. "What's the room?" I repeat my question. Chris takes a sharp right turn, and stays focused on the road. "I'm not taking you there. Carley is with a higher level group of people, and they would have ripped you to shreds. She was just trying to look good to win you over." Chris glances behind, then takes a left turn, "I'm going to get my butt busted for all of this. I hope you are happy." "So, where are we going?" i ask, processing the information. "To your buddy's place. Now be quiet." He pulls the car to the side, parking inside a garage. I see my friend come out, and tap on the window, and Chris first questions,"What happened?" "Nathan got me out, so James and Jake are stuck for a while." He opens my car door, and we all head into a room. They have me sit on one end of the desk, and finally break the ice on this entire matter, "What was in those vials?" I sigh, and plainly say, "Everything."