Necrosiac 25 Pt2 of 3 (Looooong) (785 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: Necro
Rating: 2 on 19 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Snark << snarkk.at.gmail.com (View user info) at 2004-11-18 11:27:14 EST
The first 24 Chapters are here:
http://www.ubersite.com/u/snark
NECROSIAC 25 - Part 2
Security Chief Ben Wong ran one hand over the graying stubble on his short round chin and listened intently to the receiver in his ear.
After a minute without a response he keyed the transmit button on his belt and tried again, doing his best to keep the growing concern out of his voice.
"Auditorium... Report... Over" "Lobby... Report... Over"
He listened intently for a couple minutes longer then punched the button again with one stubby frustrated finger and barked another command.
"All Locations Report!"
Immediately his earpiece crackled to digital life.
"Armory... Roger"
"Control... Roger"
"Evidence... Roger"
"Garage... Roger"
"Medical... Roger"
"Top Floor Stairwell... Roger"
"Top Floor Elevators... Roger"
"Wonder Room... Roger"
Wong tried to key his mic to give an "Affirmative" but was cut off by the anonymous voice of one of his men.
"Chief... that sounded like Takeshi screaming, wasn't he part of the Auditorium detail?"
Almost immediately someone else followed suit.
"Chief this is the Garage, what the hell is going on? We can hear gunfire..."
Wong keyed his mic but didn't answer right away. The last thing he intended to do was jump to conclusions and panic his men, they needed to understand the situation but he also knew it was best to keep their minds on the task at hand
"Keep the radio chatter down ladies" he replied curtly, then added "Listen up. We have shufflers in the lobby. The Strike Teams have been recalled and Smithy's men are taking care of it until further notice"
He paused for a moment to let the news sink in but kept the radio channel open, then curtly issued his orders.
"Garage. Seal it and report to medical. Set up a perimeter with the team there. Miller is in charge"
"Garage... Roger, on our way"
"Evidence, lock it up, join the Armory team and wait for my orders"
"Evidence... Roger"
Confident his commands were being followed, he moved down the hall to check on the team guarding the elevators and stairwells, while gently massaging his temples in an attempt to ward off a rapidly encroaching migraine. Silently he chided himself for letting the days pressures get to him. He knew he wasn't the kind of man to buckle to pressure, but then, he couldn't remember the last time he'd lost two Directors under his protection either.
"FIGHT YOU BASTARDS!"
"I can't bring down the Ward! Somebody help me get the door Open!"
"I'm out! Somebody pass me a clip!"
"Boss! We need to run!"
"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! YOU EVIL FUCKERS!"
Somewhere in the back of his head, on the far side of the red glare of his battle rage, Leland Smithy heard the panicked shouts of his men and wondered if he'd ever really been in control.
With an animal snarl he inhaled deeply, his nostrils filling with the acrid stench of gun powder, blood and bodily fluids. He fed his last clip into his pistol, then brought it up and fired blindly into the mass of undead less than twenty feet away.
Beside him he could hear Jameson shouting something to him about retreating, but he ignored his pleas and continued firing. He didn't want to retreat. He wanted to make them pay. He WOULD make them pay. It was all he had left, his own petty retribution for the horribly identifiable screams of his dying wife.
Jameson yelled at him again and grabbed him by the shoulder. He turned dazedly towards him, just in time to see two of his men make a break for the service entrance on the other side of the Auditorium doors, only to be overwhelmed as the doors burst open and their undead families emerged.
Almost immediately he recognized the thing that used to be his wife Jayne, her short grey hair splattered red, her once warmly regal face a mask of rage as she tore open the neck of the first screaming fallen agent, a man they both knew, a man she'd served wine to less than a week earlier.
"Jayne... No"
Leland Smithy put his pistol to his temple and pulled the trigger.
"Click"
"This is Armory. I have men here without paperwork. They say Smithy sent them... Over"
"Roger... Give them whatever they want"
Wong took out his phone and attempted to call the Lead Investigator for what seemed like the hundredth time but was interrupted as an excited voice sounded out from his earpiece.
"Shufflers in medical! Shufflers in Medical!"
Wong keyed his mic but his mind had gone blank. The world around him seemed to be sinking into a pool of chaos and he found himself increasingly out of touch with the situation.
After a moment the same voice sounded out again.
"They're not going down!"
Anger and frustration washed over him, somehow clearing his mind. He keyed his mic again and spoke with renewed yet hesitant authority.
"Medical, barricade the doors. Keep them out. Evidence... uhhh... Pederson, grab shotguns and extra ammo and go to Medical"
"This is Pederson... Roger"
Desperately he looked at the carpet between his feet and tried his best to clear his head. He needed to understand the situation if he was going to take control of it but he was feeling like a blind man and increasingly overwhelmed. Nothing had ever prepared him or his men for what they found themselves in. They had always been safe within the protective umbrella of the runes built into the building, and the constant presence of a Strike Team. They'd never had to deal with anything worse than a disgruntled employee or the charred remains of the occasional Necromancer who was insane enough to believe he could get past either one.
But this... no this was an entirely different ball game all together. By all accounts the entire first floor of the building was being gradually overwhelmed.
"So what's the worst case scenario?"
The question popped into his mind uninvited but he understood its necessity and did his best to answer it.
Lobby team dead.
Smithy's men and the occupants of the Auditorium dead, or fighting for their lives.
Medical under attack and drastically undermanned.
Monitor station unmanned thanks to the cowardice of one man.
"OK" he told himself "So what now? What's left to protect? What can you do?" then spoke into his mic again as his next plan of action finally made itself clear.
"Control... can you lock out the Elevators?... Over"
"Control... negative. They have to be locked out from the Security Station or the Monitor Station... Over"
Of course not.
He cursed himself for a fool under his breath then looked at the elevators before him then motioned the guard standing in front to step out of the way, and pressed the down button.
He knew getting to the security desk would probably be suicide if there were more than a couple of undead in the lobby, but the door to the monitor station was close, nothing more than a quick sprint away. If he could get to it he could lock himself in. If he could get there he would have all the intelligence he needed to direct his men. At the very least he should be able to block easy access to the Caster's under his protection and see what had happened to the other teams.
But if the lobby was full of undead...
"You can make it old man" he silently told himself "You're small and quick and mean as hell"
He motioned the men around him to come closer and let them know what he planned then issued a few quick orders before addressing Control again.
"Control... patch me through to the building intercom"
A few moments later came the expected reply.
"Control, Roger... You're on"
Wong took a deep breath and did his best to sound calm and in control.
"Attention all Staff. This is Security Chief Wong. We have a situation in the building. Please do not attempt to leave it or access the main floor...
"... I repeat. The building is under attack. Do not attempt to leave. Lock yourself in the nearest secure room and wait for further instructions."
Smithy stood frozen and watched his men slowly being torn to shreds by strangers and loved ones alike.
Before him a tall thin agent he recognized as Martens, their resident Conjuror, pulled a machete seemingly out of thin air and handed it to Jameson, then another one for himself and joined the fight.
To his left another man fell to the ground screaming, as great gouts of blood spewed from a gaping hole torn in his throat.
Everything lost.
Everything he held dear turned to blood and ruin.
He looked down at the empty weapon in his hand, then dropped it to the floor and pulled his knife from its scabbard and brought it up to his throat to slice it open.
"I'm so sorry..."
Smithy tightened his grip on the handle, closed his eyes, and stared the memory of his daughter straight in the face, as the sound of her voice filled his head.
"...should I be scared?"
The echo of her words shot through him and tugged hard on the drowning remains of his soul. He choked back a sob and answered her again despite himself.
"No"
Suddenly a crystal clear realization jolted him from his fatal apathy and he stood stiff and surveyed the wall of undead pushing in on his men.
Strangers... Wives... Co-workers... children... but no children he recognized... none without street clothes, none from the Auditorium.
His daughter might still be alive.
The knowledge sent a wave of hope through him, followed closely by an almost overwhelming shame, but he brushed it off.
Shame was easy, he told himself, shame could be dealt with later.
"The Corner!" He yelled "Get your backs into the corner!"
Jameson glanced back at him, his battered blood smeared face a mask of surprise and relief, then repeated the order to the dozen or so men left standing.
Slowly they gave way, letting the mob push them to the corner where the wall turned perpendicular to itself.
Adrian stuffed one last handful of warm flesh into his mouth and chewed slowly, savoring the taste of fresh meat.
From out in the hall the music of the carnage he'd begun played like a grand waltz to his ears. He swallowed the coppery contents in his mouth then closed his eyes and let the music from outside wash over him as the dark entity within him rested, fat and weary from its earlier revelry.
After a time he opened his eyes again and turned his mind to the next task at hand.
The agents in the hall had put up quite a fight. He'd felt the number of souls bound to him diminish almost alarmingly at first, but he took comfort in the fact that there were still so many.
Yes, they'd put up a fight. In fact he could still hear the battle being waged weakly outside and turned to finish it, then stopped as a sound from the back of the auditorium caught his ear.
A whimper.
He wiped the gore dripping from his chin away with the sleeve of his jacket then strode to the stage and stopped.
There it was again.
It seemed to come from the stage itself and he looked at it in puzzlement for a second then realized that it wasn't coming from the stage but rather from underneath.
Slowly he strode along the front of it, searching for an entrance to its belly, a trap door or service hatch of some type, then stopped again as his eyes came into contact with an opening on the side.
With a full bellied grunt he got down on all fours and smiled as the children huddled underneath saw him and screamed in terror.
"Hello" he said "What do we have here?"
One of the children closest to him thrust the blade of a small jackknife out towards him, and yelled, doing her best to look threatening.
Adrian chuckled and did his best to look scared.
"Oh my" he said "You are a fierce one aren't you... what's your name?"
"I don't have to tell you anything!"
Adrian frowned and shook his head
"You do if you want to live"
"No I..."
"TELL ME!"
His shout brought about another round of screaming from the children huddled before him and for a moment he toyed with waking the beast within him to have its way with them, but then smiled again as a different idea came to mind.
"Child... you're name"
The shadowy girl wiped tears from her large brown eyes and shakily whispered her reply.
"Ba... Barb... Barbara"
"Barbara" he replied then gave her what he considered his warmest smile and winked "Barbara is a good name, a classical name... tell me Barbara, do you understand the value of a promise? Have you been taught the necessity of honesty?"
"I g g guess so"
The gloom under the stage made it hard for him to see the girl's expression but he decided that she was probably too terrified to lie.
"That's good Barbara then let's make a promise to each other shall we? You promise me to speak the words I give you and in return I will give my word not to harm you or your little friends"
The reply came back immediately, her young voice full of hope.
"I promise!"
Adrian gave her his words and made her speak them back to him, then nodded proudly.
"Very good my dear" he beamed "You are quite bright for a pet. Now listen... you keep your friends under here until a grown up you know comes and speaks to you OK? There are going to be many of my pets about when I leave and I won't be controlling them. I would rather my words not be lost because of the childishness of a little girl. Do you understand me Barbara?"
The girl under the stage didn't answer him but he decided he didn't mind. There could be no doubt she'd heard him and in the end he really didn't care if they all ended up food for his undead.
"Goodbye Child" he said and blew her a kiss, then stood up and strolled out into the hall to finish the battle.
"The look... of love... is in... your eyes"
Wong pressed the lobby button impatiently and toyed with the thought of putting a bullet into the speaker above his head.
"The look... a smile can't disguise"
The floor numbers on the digital display before him counted down slowly, as if purposefully taunting him.
"C'mon, C'mon" he said as he put himself in the starting position for a sprint, pistol held ready at his side.
5
4
3
2
"It's just the sweetest thing"
L
"That I've been dreaming of"
He felt gravity shift as the elevator came to a halt, and readied himself for the run of his life.
"Ding"
The grey metal door slid open and a tall man with Raven hair and matching suit quickly stepped in and smiled, his pointed teeth pink and wet in his blood smeared face.
"Hello" he said amiably "Wonder Room Please"
User Reviews
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-06-14 20:13:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Don't tell me Wong is dead too. Why can no-one live?
Submitted by Revolutionman (user info) at 2005-05-06 18:59:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Charred (user info) at 2005-03-31 16:45:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Seriously?
Find a publisher.
Submitted by Malificent (user info) at 2005-03-25 11:27:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Jo_of_the_golden_P (user info) at 2004-11-29 21:29:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-11-25 11:37:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks Benny,
It's much better. I'll post the next one tomorrow.
Submitted by Benny (user info) at 2004-11-24 22:09:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Just as unbelievably good as the others. Can't wait for the next instalment.
How is your shoulder now? This would have been pretty arduos to type one handed.
Submitted by CoreaPeekay (user info) at 2004-11-23 21:36:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Two words:
Fucking insane.
You are my new favorite ubersite author.
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2004-11-19 21:15:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
oh dear. we have run out of snark's posts.
make more please before i come and eat your brains.
Submitted by Cryopaul (user info) at 2004-11-19 18:27:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
so who's the suit?
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-11-19 10:10:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Damnit,
I checked this one but I had a feeling I was missing things.
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2004-11-19 09:42:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Snark, your grammar and structure are slipping again. Awesome story, but give it the attention it deserves.
And you have mail.
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2004-11-18 16:45:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2004-11-18 16:31:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Must... have... more...
Submitted by wazzawazzayo (user info) at 2004-11-18 13:02:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No apologies please. The more Necrosiac, the better.
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2004-11-18 12:19:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Excellent, I loved the last few lines especailly
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2004-11-18 11:53:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by GK (user info) at 2004-11-18 11:38:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-11-18 11:35:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I apologize for the length of this post.
I just couldn't find a place to cut in in half that I liked.
I am also aware that the obscene amount of Donkey Lovin I promised earlier hasn't materialized. Unless you count Mute, who's middle name is Donkey.