Necrosiac 10 (1096 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: Necro
Rating: 2 on 20 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Snark << snark.at.corporatedirtbag.com (View user info) at 2004-08-24 11:06:28 EDT
Chapters 1-9
http://www.ubersite.com/m/40647
http://www.ubersite.com/m/40909
http://www.ubersite.com/m/41084
http://www.ubersite.com/m/41216
http://www.ubersite.com/m/41339
http://www.ubersite.com/m/41468
http://www.ubersite.com/m/41583
http://www.ubersite.com/m/41982
http://www.ubersite.com/m/42254
NECROSIAC 10
"This is the audio log of Director Montgomery Stevens dated August 20, 2004 at 11:50 P.M. I am making this recording in reference to case file Twenty One Twelve dash Six"
"Let me start off by saying that I have put great thought into what I am about to do. It is my belief, based on the evidence regarding the incident last week involving Agent Terri Anaka and the subsequent explosion in the Agency Morgue, that we are dealing with a threat far beyond anything we have faced to date."
"If my suspicions regarding the unidentified Necromancer are correct, time is of the essence. Given the gravity of the situation, I do not feel I have the luxury of adhering to protocol. What I do next I do alone, without the knowledge or participation of anyone else. I take full responsibility for my actions and, should the necessity arise, will state my case before a board of enquiry"
Acting Director Taela Smith pressed the pause button on the control panel in front of her and scanned the somber faces of the other occupants of the room. Of all the briefings she'd given, this was the hardest. Director Stevens had been a fixture in the agency, a father figure to almost everyone in the room and the thought of filling his shoes scared her. She hoped the self doubt she was feeling was not as apparent as it seemed to her. She was having trouble speaking confidently, her self discipline tainted by the grief they all shared.
She was also not looking forward to hearing the rest of the recording again.
She hadn't completely recovered from the first time she'd heard it. She'd been friends with Stevens and listening to him suffer had broke her heart. It had made her feel like a powerless witness to his brutal torture. When it was done she'd sat in her office, hands shaking, tears of grief and rage falling from her face onto his report, while memories of good times spent together washed over her in a bittersweet flood.
No one in the room had been as close to him as her but she knew what she was about to put them through would not be easy. She'd made the decision not to warn them about what was coming, partly because she didn't want the evidence for which he had given his life to be colored by her opinion and partly because she believed him. She needed everyone else in the room to be believers as well. The fight ahead would require their complete devotion. There could be no room for doubt.
She did her best to martial her self control and addressed the team.
"There is a break in the recording at this point. The lab is analyzing it to see if there is buried dialogue."
With the exception of Agent Pitt no one bothered to acknowledge. Pitt simply nodded then returned his gaze to the transcript in front of him like the others.
Taela waited another few seconds then reluctantly pressed the play button on her console.
Stevens' confident voice once again filled the room.
"I realize that this is a very early stage in the investigation, nevertheless I feel compelled to a singular conclusion of which I will speak shortly.
"Firstly, I wish to state for the record that the agents involved in this case, most noticeably Terri Anaka, have performed their duties with the utmost professionalism and due diligence."
"Second, I have completed my preliminary report based on the evidence thus far. Please refer to it for details supporting the claim I am about to make."
"Lastly, It is my intention that this recording should never be heard. If you are listening to it now then my worst fears have been realized and I have underestimated the power of the enemy. For this I apologize."
"Alright then... based on the evidence thus far it is my belief that the Necromancer in question had manifested or was attempting to manifest himself as a Necrosiac."
Taela paused the recording again. She could tell from the various looks of shock and disbelief around the room that everyone knew exactly what Stevens was referring to. She'd expected a reaction similar to this. Understandably none of them were believers, at least not yet... except maybe Agent Pitt. Pitt didn't seem to be reacting to the claim at all upon first glance, but the lack of a reaction seemed strange to Taela, and she focused her attention on him. Pitt was sitting head down as if he was still staring at the transcript in front of him but the color had drained from his face. He looked like he had just seen a ghost. She could see that his partner had noticed too. Agent Anaka nudged him and gave him a questioning look, Pitt responded by giving her a quick shake of his head before returning his gaze to the table top.
Taela made a mental note to question him if he wasn't forthcoming later in the briefing and cleared her throat to gather the team's attention.
"Please leave any questions you might have until after the recording is finished. I promise things will seem much... clearer by then."
No one made a response. Stevens had been too respected for anyone there to dispute his claim outright.
Taela pressed play and the dead man's monologue resumed.
"This evening I am going to attempt to use the platinum shards, found imbedded in the remains of Nicholas Burk, to determine the location and intent of the remainder of the suspected Necrosiac trio. I pray this exercise is futile, however if it is not, I hope to gather enough information to bring the threat they represent to a swift and final conclusion."
"That is all."
Taela spoke without stopping the recording.
"What follows is a brief period of silence followed by a few words from Director Stevens. Video evidence corroborates that he was not yet using his Seer ability and was most likely talking to himself. The sound you will hear of paper tearing is Stevens removing the metal shards from the evidence envelope."
The room filled with the crackle of background noise from the recording. After a short time Stevens spoke again, his voice almost jovial.
"That's what you're here to find out old boy"
After a brief pause he spoke again, his voice somber.
"God help me"
The sound of paper tearing came next, followed a few seconds later by the metallic creak of a chair and a deep sigh.
Taela interjected again.
"Director Stevens is now putting himself into a trance state."
The sound of deep steady breathing filled the room. Stevens' voice seemed far away when he spoke.
"Show me"
The rhythm of his breathing became deeper, the pauses between breathes farther apart, several minutes passed before his voice came again, this time barely above a whisper.
"Too dark... trees, no, forest... a house... old... where?"
"Penance... I hear music... inside, I'm going inside."
Taela could feel her heart racing. The urge to make an excuse and leave the room was almost overwhelming, but her sense of duty and respect for her dead friend kept her in place. She placed her trembling hands on her lap underneath the table, and did her best to further prepare for what was coming.
Stevens' rhythmic breathing was broken by another deep sigh.
"Candles and Wagner... beautiful... they Waltz... shadows move...shadows watch... I'm above...red and black, black and pale...is it them... is it you?"
"He whispers to her, she laughs"
"I can see... they are dead"
Stevens let out a low groan, the pauses between his breaths shortened.
"Cold here"
"I need to touch one, I need to know"
"The woman"
"NO!"
The yell reverberated throughout the room like a gunshot, causing several of the team to jump in their chairs. Taela had been expecting it but felt its shock regardless. The panic she had subdued began to reach a fever pitch and she wondered if she could go on.
Stevens' breathing was coming fast and erratic, broken by the occasional groan. There was effort there as if he was pushing against a great weight or clawing his way out of a deep hole.
The sounds began to intensify as his struggle drew to a climax. His moans grew louder and he began to hyperventilate, incoherent mumblings mixed with the symphony of his panic, and then all at once he was quiet.
The room filled with a deafening silence.
No one moved.
Thirty seconds went by and several members of the team looked to Taela, their faces pleading as if to say "OK it's over, please turn it off now"
Montgomery Stevens began to scream.
His high pitched screams came fast, broken by frantic breaths. His torment filled the room until it seemed it might burst through the cracks in the door and overflow into the rest of the building. Taela sat with her hands on her lap and tried to lose herself in the sensation of her nails biting into the palms. She didn't dare look up at the rest of the team. She wouldn't be able to hide the panic from her face.
After what seemed like an eternity the screaming stopped. The room filled with the welcome sound of background noise. The silence didn't seem so deafening anymore.
The voice that came next was Stevens but not Stevens, as if he'd become a ventriloquist possessed by his puppet. There was a feminine quality there and when it came it was filled with rage.
"DO YOU KNOW ME NOW? DO YOU? YOU WANTED TO KNOW ME! YOU!
YOU WANTED THIS!!!"
Someone in the room muttered "Jesus Christ". Someone else groaned and leaned back in their chair with a creak. Taela couldn't tell who and didn't care, she kept her gaze focused on a singular spot on the table in front of her and vaguely wondered if her palms were bleeding.
Stevens' answered meekly in his own voice. "No... please"
"YOU WANTED THIS!"
"I'm sorry... please... let me go"
"TELL ME WHAT YOU SAW! TELL ME OR I'LL PULL YOU BACK IN!"
Stevens let out a wet sob and began to cry. His words came out jumbled, barely coherent.
"I want to go home I want to go home I want to go ho..."
The rant cut short as he began to scream again.
Across the table an angry voice said "Listen I don't see the point to this..."
Taela ignored it, and kept telling herself "Almost done" Repeating the phrase in her mind like a Mantra.
"TELL ME!"
Stevens' responded immediately his voice a study in panic. Wherever she was taking him was obviously a place he didn't want to visit again.
"I saw rot. I saw pain. I saw filth. I saw brother. I saw flesh. I saw hate"
"I AM?"
Steven's began to wail.
"I AM? TELL ME!"
"You... are... Necrosiac!" Stevens' spit the last word out as if its presence in his mouth tasted of shit.
There was another long pause and then the female voice came back again, its tone in stark contrast to the rage it had been filled with, calm, almost soothing.
"Yes."
"Now I will know you and then we can play"
Taela cut the sound of Stevens' scream off with a flick of a finger from a shaking hand and forced herself to look up at the team. The faces staring back at her (with the exception of Anaka and Pitt) bore a mixture of sorrow and shock. She could tell whatever doubts that might have arisen earlier in the recording were gone.
They were believers.
Pitt was the first to speak, his question emotionless "Is it true he mangled his face before taking his own life?"
Taela wondered at the speed at which word got around in the agency, and the cold demeanor of their newest agent. She knew he had only met Stevens' once and that the meeting hadn't gone well. Pitt had pulled strings to get on with the Agency and Stevens had resented the fact. She wondered how much she could count on his loyalty when the time came and made a mental note to keep an eye on him.
Her reply came out as cold as the question.
"Yes"
She was still shaky but she took comfort in the fact that she wasn't alone. With great effort she forced herself to stand and address the room.
"Listen, I think we could all use a break, let's adjourn for ten minutes and meet back here, but before you go, there is a question we all need to keep in the back of our minds. I want you to ask yourselves how much she knows. How much information do you think she could have withdrawn from Stevens' mind prior to killing him?"
She wasn't expecting an answer, she had asked the question rhetorically, but the answer came never the less. The messenger was Pitt. He was glaring at the ceiling at something only he could see, anger and the tilt of his head causing the tendons in his neck to stand out, his hands balled into fists on the table.
"Everything" he said "They know everything"
User Reviews
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-05-07 10:26:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Gah.
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-06-12 20:03:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I feel for Director Stevens. I really do.
Submitted by Charred (user info) at 2005-03-31 16:39:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Seriously?
Find a publisher.
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2005-03-28 05:10:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I feel hapy and secure in the knowledge I have another 29 yet to read.
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2004-11-15 16:36:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
fucking incredible.
i have a new addiction!
Submitted by wazzawazzayo (user info) at 2004-08-31 11:42:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I absolutely love this shit. Pure brilliance!
Submitted by Philst82 (user info) at 2004-08-28 01:08:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I go away for a few days and you write 3 more?? I'm going to lose my job over reading these....
Submitted by OneCheapGeek (user info) at 2004-08-25 12:04:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2004-08-24 21:36:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Happy now.
I can't tell you much I love these - even this one, where you mostly stayed away from glorious amounts of blood and carnage, was really well done.
That's not to say that the blood and carnage aren't deeply appreciated and enjoyed.
Submitted by rydogg22 (user info) at 2004-08-24 16:24:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I knew there had to be a better reason for your sick and demented mind... and this is it. Excellent story once again. Write more work less, please.
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2004-08-24 16:18:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hurry the hell up and write another one... Please?
Submitted by indepth25 (user info) at 2004-08-24 15:50:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Holy fuck that was purely gripping man, that was awesome. Can't wait to read the next one.
Submitted by Timmah (user info) at 2004-08-24 15:49:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Dude write a book. Seriously write a fucking book this shit would sell. This reminds me very much of King's work
Submitted by Xena (user info) at 2004-08-24 15:08:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
fan-fucking-tastic!!!! SUPERB!!
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2004-08-24 14:14:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I don't think there is any possible way this could be classified as too long. I know that someday it will come to an end and I will cry salty, salty tears.
Submitted by Cryopaul (user info) at 2004-08-24 14:01:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Pure genius. I was glad to see two new parts after I returned from my long weekend. It's a nice way to start another boring week.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-08-24 13:00:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks AshK,
I always look forward to seeing yours and Circe's reviews.
I'm pretty much done torturing Stevens' it's been fun but all good things must come to an end.
Mal,
I got your message from the last story (Much apreciated). There will definately be some tying in of the subplots thus far. Problem is I have to keep the stories short due to the forum so I have been sacrificing here and there. No description of the meeting room in this one etc...
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This story is freakin huge. It's growing way beyond what I had originally envisioned.
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2004-08-24 11:37:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow.
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2004-08-24 11:26:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The best and most evocative so far. I was on the edge of my seat and forgot to breathe for a majority of it.
Submitted by Malificent (user info) at 2004-08-24 11:14:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Kicker of all ass.