The Soulless V (You really should read this. It rules) (713 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 14 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Anthony Locascio (View user info) at 2005-04-06 11:12:40 EDT
Installment I http://www.ubersite.com/m/62497
Installment II http://www.ubersite.com/m/62652
Installment III http://www.ubersite.com/m/63199
Installment IV http://www.ubersite.com/m/63469
Kerr walked slowly back to towards the observation antechamber. Kreutz and Hoplighter, two of his lieutenants, looked at him expectantly. They had expected something much louder, something epic. Kerr saw the questioning looks in their eyes.
"It's all over after today," Kerr simply said. He shrugged the strap of his assault rifle higher up on his shoulder. His two subordinates looked bewildered at each other, then back at Kerr.
"What the hell did he say to you?" Kreutz asked, his blue eyes wide with surprise.
Kerr shrugged. "What I guess he suspected all along. The genes don't work. Or the cloning doesn't work. Or something. But the good doctor basically admitted it. After today, we're shut down."
"We're still running specimen 61, though?" Hoplighter asked, a hint of hope in his voice.
"Yes, but I expect this will be a short shift. If this thing doesn't come out of there tap-dancing, I'm going to fry it and that'll be it. It's odd, I kind of feel sorry for the bastard."
Kreutz huffed in indignation. "Sorry? For him? Those monstrosities killed Lewis, Khan, Pricehoffer. You should feel sorry for them."
Kerr turned angrily on his second. "I didn't say I didn't feel sorry for them, asshole. I said I feel sorry for Bosell. Lewis and the rest of them, they're dead. Their problems are over. Bosell is going to live through this. He's going to have twenty years of failure to stare down. Bosell might be a quack, but he's a genius. He can't figure out what's wrong. To admit that is for him to admit that he probably won't ever solve the problem. He's going to have to live with that, with failure, until he dies. I give him maybe five years before a sudden heart attack or something puts him down. Men like that, men with nothing to live for, rarely hang on long."
A klaxon sounded overhead, red lights flashing in steady rhythm up and down the length of the glass and steel-lined hallway. The sound of booted feet echoed along the corridor as the rest of the security squad, now armored in gleaming titanium laminate riot gear. Kerr pointed to two of the men who were still wearing the older suits. "Why aren't you men outfitted?" It was more of a command than a question.
The men shrugged. "We were short several units. They never arrived.
Kerr waved his hand dismissively. "We'll deal with that later. It's time. Let's get ready. This won't take long."
Kerr and his men moved into their position. Small pillboxes of bulletproof glass had been installed at the four corners of the room. Each man took up his position, his weapon pointing through the slot to cover the empty room. There was nowhere to hide in the glass prison that the specimen would rise into. Whether by the gas jets or a hail of anti-personnel bullets, this last of the experiments was going to die a spectacular death.
Bosell's voice echoed over the PA system. "Documenting release of genetically modified organic specimen number 61. Preparing to initiate ascent..............initiating."
The empty room seemed to kick into life, the halogen lights inside flaring into full brightness. Mounted in the ceiling and back wall, dozens of monitors came online to gauge the temperature, the humidity, the heart and breathing rate of the soon-to-be-released specimen. The large steel cargo panel in the center of the room rumbled as it disengaged, then began to slide back in a whir of machinery and turning gears. Rising through the hole in the floor was the specimen capsule, looking for all the world like a high-tech coffin.
Kerr grimaced as he looked at it from his secure position. He realized now why he hated these things, hated them more than any living thing that he had ever encountered in his life. They looked human, and that was wrong. These things were killers, murderers. They were born and bred to murder, to bring death. Nature would never have conceived of packaging something so horrible into such an innocuous wrapping. The natural ministers of death, the lion, the tiger, shark, looked appropriately fearsome. This thing, this abomination of science, wore the skin and bone of a man. Kerr felt his finger tighten on the trigger of his assault rifle.
"You'll lose that wrapping soon enough, my friend," he said under his breath. "I'm going to burn the flesh right off your bones and put my boot through your charred skull when it's over. You and your kind are about to become extinct." His eyes moved to the red key-locked button on the wall. The turn of a key, the flip of a switch. That's all it would take.
"Video feeds are nominal, audio feeds are nominal. Chamber temperature is 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Proceeding to extraction," Bosell's voice was calm and methodical, as it always was when conducting experiments. Kerr heard a shuffle behind him and glanced to see Quadias standing behind him, gnawing what little remained of his fingernails away. He didn't have the heart to tell the assistant that this was going to be the final showing of this particular flick. Elsewhere in the building, all of the other researchers would be watching on video terminals, or through the tinted observation windows on the residential floor above them. They would all be witness to this, the final failed attempt at Bosell to play God. Kerr smiled inwardly at that.
"Ascent complete. Initiating extraction............now."
A rush of bubbles cascaded through the capsule as it drained.
"Oxygenating,"
There was a hiss as oxygen rushed into the capsule. The specimen had never breathed air before, had floated in its inorganic womb from its first conception and held in reserve. Kerr wondered as he watched the fluid level drop, what would happen to the dozens of unused specimens waiting below? Would they be thrown out? Killed, an abortion of the most unholy order? Were they, incomplete as they were before Bosell worked his craft, even alive? He had no idea.
"Breaching," Bosell announced. The glass front of the capsule began to lean outward. Kerr checked his belt for the key to the burn switch one more time.
The specimen was lying on the glass cover as it lowered, its naked body still wet. Bosell had set the temperature of the chamber high to minimize the shock of the transfer.
"What's the matter doctor?" Kerr thought sneeringly. "Not man enough to rush in and wrap your little bastard in his baby blanket?"
Kerr saw powerful muscles flexing beneath its skin as it stirred. This one was even more dangerous than the others, possibly the most dangerous creature on the planet. Kerr sighted his rifle on its head and steadied his aim. A bullet could stop danger such as this, thankfully.
"Breach complete. I'm coming down," The PA clicked off, and a moment later Bosell came clumping down the corridor to see his newly born child emerge. The doctor wondered for a moment why things had become so utterly silent, and then realize that not only he, but everyone observing, was holding their breath.
It stirred, rolled over on its back to stare up at the ceiling for a moment. Its movements were jerky, uncoordinated. That was had been the case with the sixty preceding specimens as well. After a moment, it flipped onto its stomach and then came up to its knees. It shuddered for a moment, then coughed violently, expelling the last of the fluid from its lungs. It waited a moment more, gathering its strength, and then stood.
Bosell could barely get air. He was gasping in awe at his creation, the greatest and most perfect thing ever sculpted by his own hands. Then he saw the blank look in its eyes, eyes without intelligence. The look was one Bosell had seen before.
"NO! NO GODDAMNIT NO!" He pounded his fists on the glass. "NO! MOTHERFUCKER! NO!" He watched in horror as it swayed slightly left and right, head wobbling a bit, eyes unfocused. "No.....oh God......oh God no."
He sank to his knees, watching the specimen stand idly. Some of the previous ones that exhibited behavior such as this had pissed themselves or defecated, seemingly oblivious to its surroundings.
"No......God," Bosell whimpered. Kerr's voice crackled over the mic.
"Nice job, doctor. I think this one will be riding the short bus, though," Kerr chuckled. There was laughter in the background. Bosell couldn't blame them for laughing, had no energy to find anger, only humiliation.
Then he saw that it was looking at him.
The unfocused look had faded. The eyes that peered up at him from the chamber were no longer dazed and confused, but sharp and focused. The specimen was staring directly at him, and it was no longer wobbling unsteadily. Bosell crawled back to his feet. He saw the muscles in its neck tense slightly as it craned its neck to follow him.
"Lowering observation shutters, preparing for room burn," Kerr said over the mic. Bosell locked eyes with his creation, then walked slowly to the left in the window. The specimen's head followed him with its piercing gaze, did likewise as he moved back to the right.
"Response to external stimuli," Bosell whispered. Then his view of his child was cut off as the steel shutter slid over the window. "Kerr! Kerr! No!" He fumbled with the PA switch. "Kerr! No! It's different!"
"Huh?" Kerr came back dumbly.
"Wait!" Bosell screamed into the box. He nearly fell down the stairs as he ran to the chamber doors. Kerr was there, along with several of his goon squad.
"Nice try doc, but not even I hate you enough to let you go in there and get mauled to death," Kerr cackled, blocking the door.
"No! You don't understand! It's different! It's different!" Bosell was almost leaping around in frustration.
"It's not any different than the others and..."
"IT"S DIFFERENT!" he screamed, lunging for the door. Two of Kerr's men caught him, restrained him. Kerr stood laxly nearby, watching the struggle with an amused look on his face. Bosell twisted and turned with savagery borne of desperation.
That was when he grabbed the guard's pistol.
Siegfried Bosell had never fired a weapon before, only held a gun once in his life before, but he knew enough to jam the business end of the weapon against the guard's skull. Kerr's men instantly drew their assault rifles, glancing back and forth from Kerr to the doctor, waiting for the order to shoot. Bosell backed away, holding the captured man in front of him as he edged back towards the antechamber to the specimen room.
"Don't do it, doc. I'll shoot you dead, I swear it," Kerr growled, and he meant it. Bosell shoved the guard away and slammed the outer doors. A burst of gunfire rattled off the bulletproof glass. Kerr yelled at his men to cease fire - in the close confines of the entryway, they ricochet could be fatal. Bosell cackled maniacally from behind his glass armor.
"It's different, Kerr! It's different! " he screamed, jumping up and down, dropping the pistol.
"Bosell! It'll kill you! " Kerr yelled in reply. The doctor ignored him, punching the keycode to admit himself into the specimen chamber.
"Get to your positions," Kerr commanded. The squad rushed back to their pillboxes, rifles trained on the specimen, which was now staring expectantly at the chamber door.
"Captain, we can't fire without hitting him," Kreutz said.
"You don't have to. The minute it freaks, I'll burn them both. If the good doctor wants to commit suicide, I won't try to stop him. There's no other option." He fished the keys off of his belt and inserted it into the locked cover of the burn switch. He flipped it open, eying the fire-engine red switch that would send Bosell and the specimen to hell. Then he turned to watch how things unfolded.
Bosell stepped into the hot and humid chamber. The specimen looked directly at him. It was a bit over six feet, and towered over the much shorter doctor, but Bosell walked directly up to it, standing toe to toe with the creature he had designed from the cellular level to kill.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked. There was no response. Bosell looked at it, leaned forward to watch its pupils constrict, then backward to watch them dilate. Kerr looked on in horror, knowing that in this moment, or perhaps the next, the doctor would die.
"I know you can hear me," Bosell said. His voice was like a father speaking to a recalcitrant child. "Who am I?"
Kerr came over the PA. "Doctor, I suggest leaving before it gets pissed,"
"SHUT UP DAMN YOU!" Bosell screamed at him through the glass. He turned again to the specimen, which now had something on its features that almost resembled a smirk.
"WHO AM I!" he shouted in its face. His fury unhinged him, he backhanded it across the face. Kerr cupped his hand over the button. Better to burn Bosell than be torn limb from limb like an animal.
"WHO!" Bosell screamed yet again. The specimen straightened from the blow, looked down at its creator, and opened its mouth.
"Father."
User Reviews
Submitted by BlazinBull (user info) at 2008-01-31 10:17:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Viper_04 (user info) at 2005-11-11 08:05:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Ok before we were told it was 6ft tall i was picturely some smeagel looking thing
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-11-09 09:38:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-05-02 14:52:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
unheard of amounts of ass...
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-12 10:36:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
AWEsome.
Glad you finally explained what the specimens were like. Up until this chapter, I thought they were monkeys. Where did he get them? Homeless people? Or did he grow them from scratch?
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2005-04-07 08:41:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn, where have I been? This is really good.
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2005-04-06 22:20:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
gargh this is coo
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-04-06 19:06:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I might as well have spent the last eight hours dog-paddling in a fuckin cesspool for all the good today did me...
The only bright spot?
Reading this latest chapter.
Thanks.
Submitted by tlozoot (user info) at 2005-04-06 16:30:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2005-04-06 14:49:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
badass
Submitted by nrduncan (user info) at 2005-04-06 13:47:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
More more more, this story is AWESOME!
Anyone not reading this doesn't know what they're missing out on.
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-04-06 12:34:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Dannie (user info) at 2005-04-06 11:47:31 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-04-06 11:34:29 (#)
Ranking: 2
DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.....
Submitted by Dannie (user info) at 2005-04-06 11:47:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-04-06 11:34:29 (#)
Ranking: 2
DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.....
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-04-06 11:34:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.....