Necrosiac Pt 2. (1323 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: Necro
Rating: 2 on 20 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Snark (View user info) at 2004-08-06 15:04:56 EDT
Part 1 for anyone interested...
http://www.ubersite.com/m/40647
NECROSIAC - PART 2
1 Year Earlier.
Terri knew almost from the moment she walked into the Antique shop that her search had come to an end.
She'd been dealing with this kind of thing for too many years not to recognize what kind of place she was in. Her finely tuned senses picked up the well concealed signs almost despite herself.
The first thing she noticed aside from the absence of customers or a shopkeeper was the smell. The air was crisp and had the "April Fresh" scent of several different over the counter cleaners. It wasn't the kind of musty woodsy smell one would associate with a semi-clean shop full of barely classifiable antiques.
It was the kind of smell she knew would be perfect for masking the kind of chemicals used for embalming.
Several large vents covered the ceiling, filling the cramped space with the audible whisper of moving air. A quick glance confirmed that the vents were newly installed, the metal grating a shiny silver compared to the yellowing ceiling tile surrounding it.
The interior of the shop looked much like one would expect from the non-descript store front. The dull spray of sunlight which managed to seep into the room from the shops greasy front window and a single bulb ceiling lamp provided barely adequate illumination of the dusty merchandise strewn haphazardly about. The word "Antiques" painted on the window in plain black letters served as the shops only identifying mark.
It was not the kind of atmosphere which would engage a potential customer, but then she guessed commerce was not the primary role here. Also it was uncomfortably cold, a good temperature to help with the preservation of dead things.
At the back of the shop she could see a small wooden desk with an ancient cash register on top of it. Behind the desk was a single wooden door, which she knew must lead to the back of the store. According to the blue prints she had studied during the morning briefing only a quarter of the top floor space was being utilized for the display of merchandise. Most of the space in the building lay in the room behind and the equally large basement.
Terri pretended to casually inspect a dusty unplugged lava lamp near the front door. Once again she found what she was looking for. What to the untrained eye might be scratches in the door frame were actually symbols. She was not an expert in dead languages but she had seen these particular symbols before, ancient Sumerian. Typically used to keep out the dead, these ones were being used to keep them in.
She couldn't help but let a cynical smile cross her lips. She had been following up leads for 3 frustrating months trying to find this place and now that she'd found it, it all seemed so easy. One last thing to verify and then a quick trip back to home office to coordinate the strike team.
Behind the door at the back of the store she could hear the deep baritone voice of a man who she assumed to be the proprietor apparently deep in conversation. She hated having to wait to speak to him, but she needed to. She needed to clearly hear his voice to divine his purpose. Her Truthsayer talent was the reason she was assigned to recon. The chill of the place was getting to her. She was tall for a woman, her lean body didn't deal with the cold well, and her eyes were beginning to water from the dry air.
Terri turned to walk to the front desk, perhaps there was a service bell she could ring. She absentmindedly put a hand up to wipe the tears from her eyes.
Her fingers came away bloody.
Terri stared at them for a second in disbelief, but was knocked out of her initial shock as the protective runes tattooed on her back sprung to life with the terrible itch that comes when countering a spell. From the blood on her fingers she knew that they wouldn't be enough. Whoever was doing this to her must be powerful for the effect to be so quick. She also knew the spell, she'd come up against it before and beat it, but this time she knew she was in real trouble. The spell worked by imprisoning the soul in the body while it shut down internal organs and turned blood to something akin to a brackish water. Typically a Necromancer would have to imprison his victim and let the spell work its torturous dark purpose over the course of a few days, but a truly powerful Necro could magnify the spell to its conclusion in only a few minutes.
By the way she felt already, Terri guessed she had as little as 30 seconds.
She was fucked.
Finely honed survival instincts took over and Terri pulled the 45 automatic from the shoulder holster under her plain brown leather jacket. With the other hand she hit the panic button on the side of her belt. An automatic signal would be sent to Control, but she knew help would still be at least 20 minutes away. She scanned the room looking for her assailant. In order to cast this particular spell with this kind of power, the caster would need a direct line of site on her, which meant she should be able to see her target.
She was alone.
Terri's strength began to wane as her body succumbed to the spells dark influence. Her knees felt weak, her eyes stung, and her bones felt like they were made out of ice. The gun in her hand was getting heavier by the second. She had to do something and she had to do it NOW. Her instincts told her to panic, to run from the store as fast as possible, but training and experience kept her in place. It was too late to run, and the door was probably locked somehow anyways. Whoever was doing this to her had either figured her out right away or was expecting her. She'd walked right into a trap. The only way out was to stop her assailant and the best way to do that was to put a Redeemer slug into him.
But there was no one to shoot.
Or was there? She could still hear the murmuring on the other side of the door. No, not murmuring, chanting, and dead center at eye level in the door a black spot, possibly a peephole.
Fucker had been watching her the whole time.
Terri raised the pistol with both hands and fired instinctively. Once, twice, the pistol rocked in her hands, the sound deafening in the enclosed space. In her weakened state she felt like a child operating a jackhammer. "Feel the love Cocksucker" She thought as the last of her strength left her and she slumped noiselessly to the chipped wooden floor. Two holes had appeared in the door about 6 inches below the black spot and almost dead center.
The chanting ended with a shriek, and a sharp wet smack from behind the door. She guessed it was the sound of a skull hitting concrete.
Terri's strength slowly began to return, but she knew only a good cleric and several weeks of recovery could undo the damage she had suffered in the last couple of minutes. Sluggishly she stumbled to her feet. The phone on her belt began to ring. It would be Control, but she wasn't ready to answer it yet. The realization of what had just happened, how close she had come to being the tortured undead puppet of some twisted psychopath hit her hard, and for the first time in her career she wasn't sure she could do it anymore. The enemy was drastically growing in power, if she was going to continue she needed a partner. Someone she could work with, someone she knew she could trust. She needed Mattaius Pitt.
From behind the door she heard a low grunt and then a bang as if something meaty had been thrown at it. She didn't need to guess at what it was. The Redeemer slug would have cancelled the Necromancers power, whether it killed him or not. The undead in the rest of the building would be free of his influence, of his restraint.
The dead would be hungry.
The dead would be coming for her.
User Reviews
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-05-07 09:19:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yes, please.
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2005-06-16 21:36:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
uh-oh... i think i got a bit of a chub... you wanna mave my babies?
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-06-09 20:22:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
A non-linear time structure? I've always been a sucker for those.
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2005-05-02 13:13:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-03-28 20:08:15 (#)
Ranking: 2
figured i'd start reading these, since everyone seems to lvoe them.
for good reason. this kicks ass.
Submitted by Charred (user info) at 2005-03-31 16:37:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Seriously?
Find a publisher.
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-03-28 20:08:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
figured i'd start reading these, since everyone seems to lvoe them.
for good reason. this kicks ass.
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2005-03-24 09:18:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Reading from 1 through to 39
This KICKED ASS
Submitted by Coyote (user info) at 2004-11-25 07:31:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2004-11-15 15:39:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by sis <sismo12345.at.hotmail.com> at 2004-10-16 21:52:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Holy Snark so far I love it, totally original ,I dig that in a writer, Like said Move over Stephen King.From your ever faithful fan Sis.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2004-10-12 14:01:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Dude! This is kick-fuckin-ass! This will be my whole day's read. I need to catch up.
Submitted by wazzawazzayo (user info) at 2004-08-30 15:16:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow.
Submitted by Philst82 (user info) at 2004-08-11 12:12:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome
Submitted by Cryopaul (user info) at 2004-08-11 12:10:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Just as good as the first. You have an amazing talent, keep it up.
Submitted by auxcop <jendevi.at.shaw.ca> at 2004-08-06 21:09:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The only thing that I hate about it is that it just gives me a glimpse into a potentially great overall story! Well done!
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-08-06 19:05:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
lol thanks,
You obviously haven't seen this post...
http://www.ubersite.com/m/39981
Submitted by Jadey <dbiskup.at.hotmail.com> at 2004-08-06 18:00:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Anyone who writes like this must be hot.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-08-06 17:54:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
That is high praise :)
Thanks again.
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2004-08-06 17:25:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I love this, don't quit posting! If this were one of them there big books, with chapters and stuff, I would buy it in hardcover as soon as it came out and read it.
Coming from the second hand book queen, that is about the highest compliment I can give. This is just a really great story line and it has hooked my imagination and reeled it in.
Submitted by cowstastegood (user info) at 2004-08-06 17:06:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This is good stuff. Much better than your average fantasy/horror tales. Keep posting.
Submitted by Xena1 (user info) at 2004-08-06 16:01:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This story truely kicks ass! Snark you really are Da Shiz!!!
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-08-06 15:35:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks Ash
I mainly write this stuff for myself but as long as someone likes it I'll keep posting it.
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2004-08-06 15:22:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This is amazing! Truly, truly amazing.