《Human Spawn》


 Chapter 1

    The void is an interesting thing. You see, by simply existing the void implies the existence of nothing, yet within the void, I existed. Did I void the existence of void or did my existence mark the end of the void and the start of me?


    My mind had started to wander while I was trapped here. I had been existing within this nonexistence for what felt like days. And despite my best efforts, I was completely immobile. Some may be wondering why the story starts here, a story by definition needs a plot, and the void certainly contains none of that. Well, it was around this moment that the void started contracting.


    Something pierced through the void, followed by several more somethings. The liquid that I had been floating in previously started to drain and with it the sensation of weightlessness that I had previously enjoyed. Now I realized that the void I had grown used to was no void at all, but merely a fleshy membrane that had encapsulated me. Slowly I felt sensation return to my extremities shortly before they returned to my limbs. At last, I was able to move.


    By now, whatever fluid was in the sac had drained completely, which just left the membrane clinging to me like a wet sheet. It wasn''t long before I started clawing at the holes in the sac, trying to open them enough for me to squeeze through. I eventually managed to push myself through, excited to finally see something that wasn''t infinite blackness in every direction. In hindsight, the infinite blackness was worse.


    What greeted on the other side was a tile floor that I graciously flopped upon. The first thing I noticed was a coppery stench that assaulted my nose, the second the pair of legs lying next to me. I turned my head, trying to find the person they were attached to only to realize they weren''t attached to anything.


    I shot up, my eyes darting around., trying to find whoever or whatever had caused this. I was in a hallway, which was devoid of anything save myself, the sac I had originated from, and the legs. Slowly, I crouched back down, still alert, but not actively looking for a threat.


    Now that I had time, I examined the thing that had birthed me. It seemed to be made of a weird kind of meat. It was firmly attached to the ground and was surrounded on all sides by a beige liquid. To the left, the liquid merged with swirls of red where the blood from the legs had pooled. The legs themselves were ordinary, wearing camo cargo shorts and attached at the top by what looked to be a thin sliver of waist. They did, however, have something extremely useful in my situation, a gun.


    The gun, a pistol, felt comfortable in my hands, the cool metal warming my chest, if not my hands. I didn''t have any memories of using one or any memories of anything for that matter, but I seemed to know how it worked.


    The absence of any memories bothered me about as much as the legs did, which is say not all. I knew that a full-grown adult usually had memories, and I knew that most people usually would lose their shit over a pair of legs just lying on the floor, but it seemed I was not most people. But I suppose most people don''t begin their day by crawling out of an egg either.


    The last thing I checked before moving on was myself. I had pale skin that contained no visible blemishes or scars. I was female, that much was obvious by the twin lumps of fat on my chest. They were relatively unobtrusive, but I was still worried that they might hinder my movement. The only other thing that I found interesting was my belly button or lack of it. I wasn''t sure what to make of that.


    I stood up and looked around. I had two options right or left, a deceptively simple but infinitely hard decision to make. Right now I had two priorities, getting clothes, and getting out of wherever the hell I was, not necessarily in that order. Each hallway appeared just as promising as any other, so I started walking in the direction the legs were pointing. They had been kind enough to give me a gun after all.


    <hr>


    It wasn''t long before I came across a dead end. I had already passed several shoot-offs from the hallway, but I had continued straight. Ahead of me was a dead end, but there was a line of bars that I could see ahead on the right. I figured that it would at least make sense to clear this hallway before I turned around. As I approached the bars I looked inside and what I saw frightened me.


    The entire back wall of the cell was made of that same meat that had just minutes ago surrounded me. Attached to the wall like trophies were people. Little to nothing remained of their limbs, probably removed like the legs that greeted me earlier. Their heads and the ends of their amputated limbs were covered by the flesh on the wall. But what scared me were the creatures that surrounded them. They were like bugs, but not similar to any I had ever seen. They were easily the size of my head, their legs ended in a single point which they stabbed into the wall as they moved. They wore a chitinous shell that ended on one side in a bladed tail. Their bodies were the same blood red as the wall and their face consisted of a mouth and a single bright purple light that likely acted as an eye. They scuttled all over the wall, acting like a worried mother to each to the bodies under their care.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I scrambled back into cover, bringing the gun in front of me as I did so, hoping that none of the little nasty things had seen me. After a few seconds with no reaction, curiosity won out as I slowly peeked around the corner, keeping the gun in front of me the entire time. All of the creatures motionlessly staring at me. I froze, worried that I was about to be swarmed. Instead, they all just went back to work. Doctoring the bodies for whatever purpose they might serve.


    I moved to the cell door, hoping to lock it so that the creatures wouldn''t be able to follow me. As I did so, one of the critters hopped off the wall and stared at me watching as I moved to the door. When I reached the door and closed it, the creature tilted its head to the side in an almost doglike manner before hopping back on the wall with practiced ease. I wasn''t sure if the door was locked, or even if I could lock it, but having a barrier between me and them was reassuring if nothing else.


    I backed away and started to examine the bodies. Three of the five bodies were women. They were all wearing the same uniform, save one who had a camo shirt like a military uniform. The others were definitely police officers, wearing matching blue uniforms. As I studied them I realized that their chests were moving rhythmically up and down. They were still alive. That detail made me wonder what my purpose was in all of this. Clearly, I was connected to them, but how? Was my purpose to eventually join them on that wall? Best not to pursue that line of thought. With that, I turned around and left the macabre display.


    <hr>


    As I continued through what must have once been a police station, I only found one more instance of that wall of flesh, and no traces of any sacs like the one I was contained in. So far I had passed a restroom, an office, and an armory that was locked. Now, I was before two sets of locker rooms. The clothing I sought would likely be in the women''s locker room, but the trail of blood and light scratches I heard emanating from there turned me in the opposite direction.


    The men''s locker room was absolutely ransacked, all of the lockers were open, and a row of them on the left looked they had somehow been crushed from the top. Whatever had done that was more than capable of pulping me. The right and middle rows looked more promising, but after searching them I was left with little to show for it.


    Clothes which were all at least two sizes too big and ill-fitting shoes were all I could find. I did, however, scrounge up a couple hundred dollars from various sources, though the usefulness of it was likely to be around zero. This meant I was left with only one option, the women''s locker room.


    I crept inside, wary of something pouncing on me from the walls or the ceiling. As I entered I saw yet another wall of flesh, yet this one contained only one body and fewer insects. Like the others, all of her limbs were amputated, but the wall of flesh had yet to fully envelop her face, instead, it only covered her mouth and nose. Her eyes were closed.


    By now I was fairly certain the bugs didn''t care about me, but that didn''t mean I wanted to search through the lockers next to them either. I crept around to the right row and prayed they didn''t decide to sneak up on me while I searched.


    This set of lockers contained clothing that actually fit. The first locker yielded a set of undergarments and hiking boots. Another gave me jeans and a leather jacket while a third supplied a heavy black overcoat. As I approached the last few lockers in the row, I heard the creatures begin to chitter between themselves. At this point, I was more than clothed and I decided that looking for something better fitting wasn''t worth the risk.


    As I began to leave the room, I stole one more glance at the wall. The flesh had risen up to her cheeks now and was descending from her forehead. Only now her eyes were open, and they were dancing about with terror. When she saw me she let out a muted scream.


    Faster than I could blink one of the bugs raised its tail over its head like a scorpion and stabbed her in the chest with it. Only, the point on the end of the tail never penetrated her chest. Instead, a needle that had been hidden inside the tail had stabbed through her. Within a few seconds, she had stilled again, the only indication she was even alive being the steady rise and fall of her chest. The scene injected me a fresh dose of fear, and I left the room as quickly and quietly as I could.


    <hr>


    The exit to the building didn''t take too much longer to find. Leading to the exit was a reception area that looked like something out of a warzone. There were bullet holes all over the walls and the floor and corpses littered the side opposite the entrance. As for the entrance itself, the doors were on the ground and the frame was looked like it had been smashed through by a wrecking ball.


    Dead bugs were scattered about the entrance, comparatively few when contrasted with the number of dead humans. However, there was something massive amid the human corpses. On closer inspection, it appeared to be a bear-sized version of the smaller insects I had seen earlier, except its feet were webbed and it had two tails.


    Thankfully, it was clearly dead, and furthermore one of the humans had left me a present. In its hands was a rifle, the model seemed familiar even if I couldn''t name it. The stock looked like something had stabbed through it and the hole in the guy''s chest corroborated that, but it seemed functional. He had even been nice enough to leave half a magazine of ammo, and a holster for my pistol.


    Done with looting, I stepped back, careful not to slip on the pool of blood as I did so. I moved over to the entrance, careful not to step on anything that might decide to get back up.


    It was snowing outside, a thin layer of the white powder had built up on the sidewalk and some of it was creeping into the building. I stepped cautiously over the threshold. I moved out of the building I had been in for the entirety of my admittedly short life and hoped that maybe the outside world would be just a little bit friendlier.

 Chapter 2

    As I stepped outside I was greeted by a cold gust of wind. Not exactly the friendly experience I wanted, but just about anything was better than the building I had left. I was in a metropolitan area, with apartment complexes and food joints on both sides of the street. The street itself was empty, save for a few cars, but the snowstorm had reduced visibility to less than a block in all directions; I couldn''t even tell what time of day it was.


    If I''m being honest I was a bit lost at this point. My only goal up until now had been to get outside, and now that I was I had no idea what to do next. Maybe I had been expecting that whatever nightmare I had woken up in would just end if I got out, maybe I thought that if I could just get outside I would be safe. Looking around, I realized that the hours I endured in the station were nothing to what awaited me here. The station was small, impossible to get lost in even if I had tried. Outside though, it was a completely different story. Each alleyway provided an opportunity for ambush, each street provided yet another potential path toward danger. The scale had increased and with it the danger.


    I don''t know how long I stood there, worrying over endless possibilities. I worried over all the possible ways I could die, worried that I would never be safe again, and worried that no matter what I did it wouldn''t be enough to prevent the inevitable. I almost lost myself to that spiral of despair. It wasn''t until I realized my butt was getting wet that I realized I had sat down.


    That broke me out of the cycle. Worrying over death only invited it closer. I took a few deep breaths and shook myself off. Worrying only wasted time at this point, and who knew how much of that I had left until dark. I picked myself up and decided that either direction was as good as the other. It didn''t take long for the police station to become nothing more than a bad memory.


    <hr>


    I had been walking now for at least a few hours. At first, I had been tense and cautious, making sure to check every alley and doorway on my way past. Now, I was walking almost leisurely, having grown tired of constantly checking for nonexistent threats. The city was, for all intents and purposes, dead. This was a city, once filled to the brim with the hustle and bustle of millions of people. All that remained of their existence was hollow steel and concrete. That creeped me out more than if I had seen the city completely infested with the insects.


    By now, my surroundings had started to change. The buildings had gotten taller, more elaborate. I suspected I was heading into the downtown area. Almost every building I had passed so far was open in one way or another, either the door was smashed, the window, or in rare cases, a hole in the wall.


    The snowstorm had only gotten worse. The snow had had once barley reached my heel was now well on its way to overtaking my ankle. My hands had long since stiffened around my rifle, and my toes were starting to get numb. To make matters worse, darkness was approaching, I knew if I got caught here at night there was a chance I wouldn''t live to see the day again. So I started looking for shelter.


    Shelter turned out to be really hard to find. There were plenty of buildings, sure. But all of them seemed to have been broken into by something, and anything that could break down a door wasn''t something I wanted to mess with.


    My hopes of avoiding conflict faded with the daylight, and I was growing increasingly worried that I would be forced to sleep in a potentially hostile building. My fears were soon put to rest by a steel shuttered office.


    The shutters were bent inwards and scratched all over, but they weren''t open, nor were there any other entrances on the sides of the building. That only left me with one problem, how to get inside.


    It was dusk by now, and visibility had fallen to only a few car lengths. The shutter was locked to the ground, and my only hope of opening it would be to find the key or maybe something to pry it off the ground with. If worst came to worst I could always sacrifice my rifle to pry open the door.


    I looked around me, the only thing that nearby was a car that was parked just outside the office. The whole thing was covered in snow, save for the windshield which had a hole on the driver''s side about the same size as the one in stock. It wasn''t hard to guess what did that.


    I tried opening the door on a whim, and to my surprise, it was unlocked, and something was pushing on it. I jumped back ready to shoot whatever decided to come out. Instead, a corpse tumbled out, with a fist-sized hole in its back and completely covered in snow. I moved towards it slowly, still worried that something was going to pop out of the car at me.


    The car was clear, so I moved my attention back to the corpse. It had fallen over on its stomach, so I had to flip it over to get to its pockets. Whatever had killed it- or her as I now saw- I pierced through the windshield, clean her chest, and into the seat behind her.


    My looting was rewarded with a keyring and an ID. I almost took the wallet, but on second thought decided that whatever was in it would probably be useless to me. I went back over to the shutter and decided to try my luck with the keys.


    It didn''t take long before I heard the satisfying click of the door opening, and I started pushing the shutter up. Of course, the door wouldn''t open more than a few feet on account of the giant dent in it, but it was more than enough for me to crawl through.


    I was greeted on the other side by a pitch-black room. I took a few steps forward, regretting that I hadn''t taken the time to look for a flashlight, when the lights decided to come on. Thankfully, they were low intensity and didn''t immediately blind me. Less thankfully, they were red and accompanied by a message.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "Welcome back -Emma Rosewell-, while you were away there were -eleven- break-in attempts. The police have been notified and will arrive shortly."


    I couldn''t help but scoff at that, but it was nice to hear another human''s voice, even if prerecorded. The voice continued,


    "This facility is currently running on back up generators with an estimated lifetime of -thirty- hours. You currently have -zero- pending notification. Have a nice day."


    I guessed Emma Rosewell was the corpse currently lying in the street, and her ID was what triggered the lights. Either way, I now had a safe place to wait out the night, and even better, it was warm.


    <hr>


    I had set up shop near a vent that spewing out heat in the reception area. Throughout the day, my clothes and, more importantly, my socks had become covered in snow. Most of them were laid out now scattered around the heater in the hopes they would dry out before tomorrow.


    The area I was in was small, only containing a reception desk, a few chairs, and a sign that read: Winston Laboratories. Behind the reception area was a locked door. I was sure I could open it with my recently acquired ID, but I hadn''t bothered to test it yet. After all, I was perfectly content where I was, and I had no reason to go looking for more danger.


    That was when my stomach decided to rumble... loudly.


    Shit.


    <hr>


    I was hesitant to head back outside, which left me with only one option. I got up with my rifle and moved over to the door behind the reception desk. There was a window into the room behind it, but with the lights off inside there wasn''t much to see. I placed the ID onto the scanner and the door swung open into the darkness.


    Unlike when I entered the building, lights didn''t automatically come on. Instead, I had to flail my arms about the wall trying to find the switch. Eventually, I was rewarded for my efforts with temporary blindness. In my defense, I wasn''t really expecting floodlights to light up every corner of the room. When my vision finally returned, I started to wander the room.


    The whole place looked like something out of a movie. In the corner, there was a workshop with all manner of tools. The majority of the room was filled with different kinds of devices none of which were recognizable. Robotic arms descended from the ceiling, hovering over some of the devices for some unknown purpose. And at the center of the room was a glass structure surrounded by several screens.


    But I spot something useful, a breakroom. There wasn''t much real food, only a few stale crackers and moldy sandwiches which I devoured without a second thought. There were, however, plenty of protein bars and energy drinks which I decided to take back to my little camp in the reception area.


    Dinner done with, I was tempted to try to sleep. But now that the room was open I knew I couldn''t just leave it unexplored. This time I went into the room with no particular goal in mind. I just wanted to see if there was any cool stuff. It''s not like anyone else was going to use it anyways.


    The workshop was the first place I checked. The tools were useless to me, but I did find some flashlights and electrical tape. It didn''t take long to strap one of them to the barrel of my rifle, and I put another in my pocket alongside the tape just in case.


    It didn''t take long for me to realize that most of the machinery was useless, either because it was too big to move or just completely beyond my ability to use.


    But it wasn''t a total waste of time. In the center of the room, near the glass structure was another workstation, and sitting in the center of it was a watch. It was electronic with a simple leather strap and metal clasp. I put it on and couldn''t help but frown when nothing happened. Maybe it was dead? Either way, it looked important and it was small, so I decided t keep it. The rest of the room was for all intents and purposes, barren.


    I left the lab content with my haul. I had food, warmth, and a shiny watch. If that wasn''t living the highlife I didn''t know what was. Tomorrow I would be back outside, possibly risking my life, but now I was content.


    <hr>


    I was rudely awoken that morning by a flash of pain in my wrist. And if anyone had been nearby they may have heard a scream. Not that it was me or anything.


    When I looked to inspect the damage I saw a small trickle of blood moving away from my watch out onto my arm. When I tried removing it I found that I couldn''t. Or at least not without a great deal of pain. On closer inspection, the damn thing had shot a needle into my wrist, and if the way it was pulling on my skin was any indication, the needle was fucking barbed. I guess this was the price for my greed. Go figure.


    At least the little bastard was finally on. Maybe it fed on pain. Instead of displaying the time, though, it only displayed "unauthorized user" in bright red letters. I moved back to the lab, careful not to move my wrist in any way that might provoke the watch. I hope that there might be a way to get the watch off back in the lab, surely they had some kind of tool to remove it. If worst came to worst I could always try cutting it out, but I hoped things wouldn''t come to that.


    As I approached the door I pulled out Emma''s ID. As I was about to scan it, I had a thought. Instead of scanning the ID at the door, I placed it over the watch. Surprisingly it worked, I felt something move under my skin as the barbs retracted, shortly followed by the needle itself. The face of the watch simply said "new user authorized" before transitioning to its home screen, with no apology for the pain it had caused.


    I had half a mind to simply leave the thing here, but after browsing through its various menus, I quickly changed my mind. The thing was way more useful than its sized implied. I knew of watches that could monitor heart rate, but this thing monitor just about everything. Body temperature, blood tests, radio frequencies, hell, there was even a Geiger counter shoved in there. Whatever pain the thing had caused me was long forgotten as I lost myself in a wide array of options.


    When I finally got back to the time portion of the watch, more than an hour had passed. I definitely hadn''t explored all the options the watch had, but I made a dent in it. Currently, the watch was set up to alert me if it detected anything that might be able to kill me. Radiation, infection, poison, dehydration, and many more all fell under that list. Of course, most of those required it to stick the needle in me periodically, but that, of course, was a small price to pay. Best of all, the thing was powered by heat and sunlight, which meant I shouldn''t have to ever charge it. Never before was I so happy that something decided to stab me.


    With that out of the way, I started cleaning up my little camp I managed to shove enough energy bars in my pockets to last a few days, but without a pack, I could only carry a few bottles of water. But at this point, I seriously doubted anything could wipe the grin off my face. I had a cool watch, damn it, a few bottles were nothing compared to that.


    I lifted up the shutter and wriggled out from under it. I was ready for whatever this urban hellscape could throw out. Or at least I thought I was because it was at that moment I locked eyes with a giant insect across the street.

 Chapter 3

    The moment I locked eyes with the thing, I stilled. My rifle was still lying on the ground, abandoned when I had to crawl under the shutters. As for the pistol, it was stuck under my jacket, all but useless. If this thing was half as fast as it looked, I''d be dead before I could even think about running. The creature decided to end the stalemate by moving towards me, one of its tails raised menacingly over its head.


    I glanced at the corpse I  found last night, even covered in snow the hole in her chest was obvious. If I did nothing, I would wind up just like her, one corpse in a city of millions.


    The creature was now halfway across the street, and it tensed its hind legs and let out an inhuman screech, preparing to pounce. It jumped. I dropped. I was reaching for the rifle just as it landed on me.


    Its first tail shot over me, piercing the space I had occupied just moments ago. It shot through the steel shutters like butter, almost like they didn''t even exist. The other tail shot down, right next to my calf, easily sinking over half a foot through the snow and into the concrete below.


    In the meantime, I had managed to get the rifle pointing in the right direction. At this range, I didn''t even need to aim, just depress the trigger and shoot. As I riddled it with bullets, black gunk shot out of any holes I made.


    It didn''t take long for the half magazine of ammo empty, and by that time I had been blinded by the viscera spilling out of the creature''s belly. Unfortunately, if its angry screeches were anything to go by, all I had done was succeed in pissing it off.


    When I wiped the gunk off my face, I saw that the creature had backed off, recoiling from the violent injection of lead into its stomach. I threw the rifle to the side, without ammo it was just a fancy club. I reached over my head and grabbed the bottom of the shutter, pulling myself back into the building I had left less than a minute ago.


    Even inside and partially deafened from the rifle I could hear its screams. Like a chorus made filled to the brim with the souls damned it screamed. And as quickly as it started it stopped. Once again the world was filled with the eerie quiet I had become familiar with over the last day.


    As I was lying there, I could feel my heart hammering in my chest, even hear it in my ears. My watch buzzed. Three messages flashed on its screen. Elevated heart rate warning, no shit I thought. The other two, however, were slightly worrying. Blood pressure Warning. Trace amounts of Paralytic Venom Detected.


    I checked myself, looking for the cause of the warnings. When the thing pounced, one of its tails had knicked my leg, about halfway between my knee and my ankle. My entire lower leg was numb, I couldn''t even feel the pain should have come with the cut.


    I tried standing up, finding the task hard, but not impossible. My leg was fine above the knee, but anything below that and it might as well have been nonexistent. The best way I can describe it is as a kind of peg leg. Sure it''ll carry your weight, but there''s no feedback from it, no sense of movement.


    I backed away from the door now, limping as I moved. My watch informed me that the venom was going to last for at least the next hour. I cursed. Even if the injury was only a temporary, minor annoyance, it was still quite the wakeup call. If that tail had been just a few more inches closer to its target, I would have easily been amputated. A wound like that could kill me, either from blood loss or starvation when I couldn''t leave to search for more food.


    I pushed those thoughts away; they were useless to me now. Things had been silent outside for almost a minute by this point, and I felt the need to steal a look outside, see if the thing had decided I wasn''t worth the effort.


    I peeked through the newly made hole, curious as to the fate of the creature. For a split second, everything was clear, but it seemed the creature had the same idea as me. For it was then that I saw its bright purple eye peer back at me.


    I jumped back in surprise, an action that likely saved my life. Its tail shot through the hole again, only now it was different. No longer was it a spike meant to impale and paralyze me. No, now it was far worse. A serrated claw had shot through that fist-sized hole; it had no intention of trying to kill me, instead, it started sawing through the shutter I had once hoped would save me.


    I started limping backward, and it wasn''t long before my back was up against the wall. I was out of options and quickly running out of time. I pulled the pistol from where I had holstered and held it in front of me. My hands were surprisingly calm despite how fast my heart was racing. I glanced around, trying to get one more good look at the world before my return to the void.


    That was when I saw it. The door! I scrambled over to it and fumbled with the ID. As I stepped inside I took one more glance at the beast behind me. It was almost through the shutter now and it wouldn''t be long before it entered the building. I opened the door as the beast opened the shutters.


    I started hobbling towards the center of the room, keeping my gun trained on the beast as my eyes searched the environment. The creature lumbered forward slowly; it knew I was trapped. It seemed to enjoy this, playing with its prey.


    The creature had entered the lab now, just as my back hit the glass enclosure at the center of the lab. The creature tensed, and I swear I saw its mouth form into a wicked grin. It had me cornered, it knew it, I knew it.


    I steeled myself. If I was going to die fighting this bastard I sure as hell didn''t intend to make it easy for him. Right as he jumped, I shot aiming right for the bright purple bullseye at the center of his face. I didn''t even bother looking for the results of my shot as I rolled to the side. As I did I heard the creature shatter the glass enclosure. None of that surprised me, what did, however, were the klaxons.


    I ignored them as I rushed for the door, hoping to trap the creature in here while I escaped down the street. My watch buzzed angrily at me, and I managed to spare a quick glance while I ran. Poisonous gas detected. Suddenly, my plans changed. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I made it to the door while breathing as sparingly as possible. When I reached the door I closed and locked it. Then I studied the interior of the lab.


    The center of the lab was an absolute mess. Instead of chasing me, the creature was spinning and stabbing in all directions, sending glass and machinery flying everywhere. When it turned to me I figured out why. Where its eye had once been a mess of purple and black ichor was all that remained. It seemed that my desperate shot had hit its target.


    As I watched, its movements grew slower and slower, before eventually collapsing, succumbing to whatever poison it had released. It seemed that the most effective way to eliminate the insects was to get them to kill themselves. Go figure.


    I breathed a long sigh of relief, before realizing that whatever gas was inside the lab could very well be spreading into the reception area. I ran outside before inhaling again.


    I didn''t take too long to revel in my success. The commotion would likely draw more of the creatures, and I doubted I would survive another encounter. Instead, I got ready to leave. There was nothing left to loot here, and my rifle was in lying in pieces on the ground. So I double-checked all my gear and looked through the various menus on my watch.


    When I was playing with my watch earlier I found a map. The GPS function was broken, but it would be a simple matter to orient myself. Once I did I would head east, that was the quickest way out of the city. After that, I would play it by ear. With that done I set out, more than ready to leave this city behind.


    <hr>


    It was only once I had put a few hours between me and the lab that I felt safe. More than once I had to dive into an alley or open building when I heard something big moving in the opposite direction. The pouncers, as I had started referring to them, were all moving in the direction I had left, probably attracted to the gunshots.


    The storm was gone today and the temperature, in general, was lower. But as I walked I noticed that the sun was acting weird. Or as weird as an inanimate object can, I suppose. It looked almost like it was underwater or like I was looking at it through a slightly tinted glass. The anomaly didn''t worry me too much, the insects were a much bigger concern.


    But it had been at least an hour since I had last noticed one, so I assumed I was in the clear. My leg was back normal now, but that still left me with a hole in my jeans. To make matters worse, the black guts I had been covered in had dried, staining both my jeans and jacket. There was probably some still left on my face and hair, but it was hard to tell.


    As if answering my prayers, it wasn''t long before I spotted a clothing shop. The door was locked, the window had a pouncer sized hole in it. If the accumulated snow was anything to go by, the hole was at least a few days old.


    I moved through the building slowly, making sure that whatever had decided to leave. Most of the clothing racks were knocked over, and there were discarded clothes everywhere. I crept to the back of the shop ready to shoot anything that decided to pop out.


    What I wasn''t ready for was the trail of blood that moved down the length of the back hallway, before ending in a sharp turn to the bathroom. I approached the door slowly. As I did, I heard soft skittering behind the door. It sounded like a few of the small creatures had made their home behind the door, and if it were anything like the station, the trail of blood ended at a wall of flesh.


    I reached for the door slowly and pulled it shut.  Hopefully, the little guys didn''t know how to use a doorknob. With that done with, the building was clear. Now I turned back to the main room, eager to finally get some new clothes.


    In the end, I ended up leaving everything behind except the leather jacket which I kept because it looked cool. Do I really need a better reason? My overcoat was replaced with a navy blue parka, and the jeans were ditched in favor of green cargo pants. Not the best looking things I could have worn, but they came with plenty of pockets. I also grabbed a new pair of black lace-up boots in addition to a few pairs of panties, bras, gloves, and shirts. The extras I put with my food supplies in my brand new backpack.


    Geared up, I hopped back out through the window and continued moving east.


    <hr>


    Walking through a hostile city was surprisingly boring. Every once and awhile I would see or hear something that caused me to scamper over to the nearest piece of cover. But I often found myself letting my mind relax. My mind could only stay hyper-aware for so long, after that it would just kinda say screw this, and start wandering.


    As I walked I noticed that the buildings became less and less destroyed. Now there was only the occasional hole or break-in, instead of every single building. I assumed that meant I was heading in the right direction, anywhere that had fewer creatures was better than here.


    The street I was on had diverged from its eastward direction for a bit,  but once it turned back I would have a straight shot out of the city. It was getting late, however, so I didn''t plan on leaving today. At best I would be outside city limits by midday tomorrow.


    I turned the corner and paused for a moment to look down the street. The street dropped into a massive decline which should have given me a view of the surrounding urban area. Instead, about ten to fifteen miles in the distance was a giant wall.


    It was dark grey at the bottom and reached as high as hundreds of feet in the air. As it rose it curved inward, and the wall lost more and more of its color until it became crystal clear. I glanced over my shoulder at the setting sun, almost completely hidden by a nearby building. That was no wall, I realized, but an entire dome, spanning the length of the city.


    What was its purpose? Who built it? Why? I shook my head, there was no point in thinking about that now. Besides my plan remained the same. I would keep traveling to the edge of the city, and then I would look for a way out. Surely there were holes or doors or something. I wouldn''t be reaching the dome tonight anyways.


    I started descending down the hill, and soon the dome was once again lost from sight.


    <hr>


    Unlike last night, it wasn''t hard to find a safe place to sleep, but it certainly wasn''t nearly as interesting. Instead of a lab, I found myself in a small little pizza shop on the corner of the street. It wasn''t even hard to get into, I just grabbed a rock and threw it through the doorway window, then I reached inside and unlocked the door.


    I made my bed in a booth outside of the view of the door. Dinner was a small affair, consisting of the same protein bars I had eaten for the last day. I briefly considered having a gander at the kitchen to see if there was anything better, but the smell of rancid meat emanating from inside chased me off.


    I was tired, but sleep refused to come. My mind kept returning to the dome and what it might mean for my future. No matter how hard I tried sleep remained elusive. Of course, that meant that I was awake when the ground started shaking.


    I shot up, hand reaching for my pistol on the table. I moved over to the window, wondering if an earthquake had decided to pierce the silence. Instead of the backness of night, The ground was lit up with varying hues of red. I ran outside still confused as to what was going on.


    My jaw dropped. The top of the dome was glowing a deadly red. As I watched a beam shot out from the top, landing right on a skyscraper. And just like that, the tallest building in the city was gone. It didn''t collapse or anything spectacular, one moment it existed, the next a giant red beam took its place.


    As I watched I realized that the beam was expanding. Its width was growing, and at this rate, it would only be a few hours before it hit me. I turned in the opposite direction and started running.

 Chapter 4

    It wasn''t long before the adrenaline rush faded and I was forced to slow down to a light jog. If I tried to maintain a dead sprint I would peter out long before I hit the dome. Logically I knew that, but it was hard to ignore every bone in my body screaming that I should run as far and as fast as I could.


    I''d been moving for almost an hour now, but in that time I''d only managed four miles. Pitiful I know, but the lack of sleep and the activities of yesterday weren''t doing me any favors.


    Any time I started to slow or felt like giving up, I had to remind myself of the wave of death chasing me. I had a head start, sure, but that beam wasn''t slowing down. if anything it was moving faster, almost eager to consume the remainder of the city, and me along with.


    I had had made progress to the dome, but the beam of light had only grown in intensity. The temperature had started to rise, and beads of sweat were forming on my face. I unzipped my parka, hoping the extra breeze would help cool me down. However, I didn''t stop running doing so would have felt like a death sentence.


    At some point, I stopped caring about how far I had left to go. I just made sure to keep putting one foot in front of the other. That was all that mattered now. If I stopped, I knew the chances of me starting again were low.


    One foot in front of the other... My legs were numb, I had lost all feeling in them some time ago. I was absolutely drenched in sweat. As the beam had drawn closer, the temperature had skyrocketed. There were puddles of water scattered everywhere about the snow.


    One foot in front... The heat was growing unbearable. I had shed my parka and gloves long ago, and it felt like someone had poured a bucket of water over my head.


    My watch had started buzzing angrily at some point, but I didn''t bother wasting the energy required to check. It didn''t matter. All that mattered was that I didn''t stop moving.


    One foot... My perception of the world had shrunk to include only my feet and the next few steps in front of me. I felt as if I were moving through water, yet my throat remained dry. My feet were moving forward at a slow almost imperceptible shuffle. Speed was no longer a concern. My only concern was forward.


    One...


    My head was laying on a cushion made of clouds. The air was warm but comforting, like laying beneath the covers on a cold night. What was I doing again? I shrugged. What did it matter? I was comfortable here. Whatever it was could wait until I was rested. But what if it was important? I sighed. Fine, it couldn''t hurt to check.


    My eyes shot open. I was resting against a car tire, thoroughly exhausted.


    It took a few seconds for the events of the night to catch up with me, but when they did I shot up, only to stumble on shaky legs.


    The events of the last few hours felt distant; I had the same clarity about them as I might expect to have about years old memories. I couldn''t even remember how I got here after a point, everything just became a blur.


    I was lying at the base of the bridge that ran straight into the dome, the edge of which cut through the bridge at an angle. The bridge itself hung above a what might have been a river, though with the dome blocking it from its source, it was little better than a pond.


    Cars were jammed all along the bridge and with no sidewalk, I would be forced to go over them to reach the dome. I climbed up on top of the car I had just used as a pillow and began moving towards the dome. I briefly considered swimming, but with my legs as dead as they were I was liable to drown before I made it ten feet, much less the few hundred I had left.


    As I stumbled across the tops of cars, I glanced behind me. I immediately wished I hadn''t. The beam was close now, it expanded like a wall in either direction, and I had to crane my neck back to see the top of it. Best guess it was less than a few miles from me, and it was moving a lot faster than I was. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    As it approached, the puddles left over from the snow started to boil, before evaporating into steam. It wouldn''t need to touch me to kill me.


    The dome looked different as I approached, I realized it wasn''t a wall like I had once thought, but instead, it was something else entirely. The dome shimmered as I watched it, patterns sprang to life on its surface, branched out in infinitely many directions, before disappearing back into nothingness. I would have thought it quite beautiful if wasn''t for the fact I was fighting for my life.


    I was only a few steps away now, but I had paid dearly for my progress. My skin felt like it was on fire. Each breath I took burned my throat. I thought I could even smell my hair burning.


    There were no obvious exits in the barrier, but I hoped I didn''t need it. As I looked at the dome I realized, it wasn''t entirely solid. It was moving, almost as if it was alive.


    My hand reached out for the dome, testing it. There was resistance at first, but as I pushed it compressed like gelatin. After a bit of effort, my hand emerged on the other side. The air was cool there, and I felt a pleasant breeze caress my skin. I pulled my hand back.


    I took a few steps back, hoping a running start would provide enough inertia to see me through. The beam was close now, consuming the car I had woken up next to. I could hear the water below me begin to boil. It was now or never. I ran through the barrier.


    Next thing I knew, I was falling. I had wound up at least fifty feet in the air over a small body of water. In other words, I was boned. Even if I survived the impact I would drown there.


    The water was rushing up to meet me, eager to pull me into its cold embrace. On impact, the world went black, and I knew nothing more.


    <hr>


    Sergeant McKenzie took another drag from his cigarette. He was leaning on a balcony, gazing out over the lake. Even after being stationed here for six months, he was still able to appreciate the view. It was almost as calming as the nicotine itself.


    The balcony of the outpost he was stationed at overlooked a small lake right on the edge of the Dome. Long before his time, any visible obstruction within a mile of the Dome had been cleared, meaning he could see just about as far as he wanted.


    Over the past year and a half of service, he had gotten pretty good at timing his smoke breaks with the reset of the Dome. The warm red light gently emanating from the other side helped soothe his nerves, not to mention the mesmerizing patterns.


    And boy, did his nerves need soothing. His current lieutenant was by far the worst he had ever had. She had a stick so far up her ass he swore he could almost see it when she yelled at him.


    "McKenzie! Get your ass down here, you got a call from Alpha!"


    He cursed under his breath. Speak of the devil. So much for a break. He flicked the cigarette to the side and was about to turn away when he saw something emerge from the Dome.


    He had seen a lot of shit come out of that dome. Demons, flesh-eating fungi, leeches that fed on memories, and countless other abominations best left unmentioned.


    A woman had flown out of the dome like a bat out of hell, smoke wisping off her shoulders and all. If he didn''t know any better, he would have thought her one of those furies his friend had told him about awhile back.


    She was easily fifty feet high, and as he watched she started falling towards the lake below. He stood there, stunned, as she dived into the lake feet first. It wasn''t until she hit the lake that his brain started working again.


    "Lieutenant," he yelled over his shoulder, "we gotta situation at the Dome!"


    Without waiting for a response he jumped over the railing and started running towards the lake. So much for a break indeed.


    <hr>


    I was back in the void again. Considering how the last few days had gone for me I kind of expected to be here earlier, only I hadn''t expected to be aware of my return. I think therefore I am right? If I was dead how did I think?


    Maybe this was just an in-between, the space that lay between life and the afterlife. Maybe the only thing keeping here was my body still alive as it sunk to the bottom of the lake. Well, if that was the case, all I had to do was wait.


    So I did.


    So I waited. Years passed, or maybe just seconds? Time held no meaning here, in this place unbound by gravity.


    Suddenly the void shuddered, and I was brought back to when I first woke up. Surely I wasn''t in yet another sac? Even death was a better alternative than that.


    Then the void folded in on itself. Again and again, it collapsed on itself, not at all concerned about the lone passenger it thrashed about. With it came emotion. Pain, despair, sadness, longing, so many I couldn''t even begin to count them all.


    As quickly as it began it was over. The storm of foreign emotions was gone, replaced by just one. Hope. Small and inconsequential compared to the enormity of the others, yet it was the only one that lingered.


    And the void, it was gone. All that remained was me. There was no sac, no membrane surrounding me, no sudden rush of feeling.


    I realized then that whatever I had felt before was not void. It was perceivable, tangible, I was cognizant of it. It existed.


    Now, there was truly nothing but me.


    Given time to process, the realization might have affected me.


    Instead, much like the void before me, I too ceased to exist.

 Chapter 5

    I was starting to realize that I did not enjoy waking up. Sleep was a pleasant, comfortable experience in which there was no pain or longing. Being awake though, that was painful.


    I had woken up on a medical bed, the sounds of various monitors surrounded me. The room smelled of disinfectant and soap. A hospital then.


    No one else was in the room, but I did notice a camera in the corner. That wasn''t creepy in the slightest. The rest of the room was empty save for the monitors and the bed I was laying on.


    My clothes had disappeared, replaced with an ugly, green medical gown. As my eyes traveled further down my body, I realized that my legs were bound together with a leather strap. I tried reaching for it, only to realize that I couldn''t.


    Whoever had strapped me down had taken the liberty to handcuff both of my arms to the sides of the bed. I tested the right cuff, it wasn''t coming anytime soon.


    As I moved to the left I noticed something far more horrifying than any handcuff. Just past the cuff and the IV drip, there was nothing. The bastard had taken my fucking watch! Some absolute imbecile had taken my property, MINE!


    Ok, maybe I was overreacting. But still, I wanted that watch back. It was literally the only thing I had ever owned, besides the clothes on my back that is.


    All I had to do was wait, there was a camera here after all. Surely someone had seen me wake up.


    So I waited.


    My nose started itching. I tried reaching for it, only to remember I couldn''t.


    Eventually, I decided that I ''d done enough waiting. Time to... actively wait.


    "Hello? Anyone Listening?"


    It felt weird talking like I was violating some rule that I hadn''t dared to before. There wasn''t much point to talking in the city, in the first place there was no one to talk to, and even if there was, talking was just liable to get you killed.


    I waited a few seconds without receiving a response.


    "Look," I yelled, "I''m sure this is all just one big misunderstanding. Maybe you can come in here and we could work it out?"


    I let out a sigh. It looked like I would be stuck here for a while. The itch on my nose took the pause in my thoughts as a sign to flare up again.


    If it wasn''t for the camera I think I would have cried. I needed adventure damn it! At least having a near-death experience would be interesting, this was just plain torture.


    My thoughts of torture died down, and I was left alone in the room with just the sounds of the heartbeat monitor for company... and that damn itch was here too.


    So I continued to wait.


    After a while I got so bored I started counting the beeps on the heartbeat monitor. One, two, three... I lost count somewhere around ten-thousand.


    Ok, fuck this. I''d had enough; it was time to put an end to this torture. I stuck my tongue out, trying to reach my nose. I was going to scratch that fucking itch one way or another.


    The door opened and three people walked in


    Immediately I retracted my tongue and put on my best innocent expression. If they saw anything, they didn''t mention it.


    The first two people to walk in were wearing uniforms. One was a middle-aged woman, who sported an annoyed look on her face. She took up position on the far wall, hand resting on a holstered pistol.


    The other was a young man, wearing the same uniform as the woman before him, only with a smaller insignia on the shoulder. Probably the woman''s subordinate then. He seemed nervous and was toting a rifle, not the best combination if I wanted to leave without a few extra holes in me.


    The last member of the trio was an older man in a labcoat, much like his younger counterpart, he too was nervous, just a lot worse at hiding it. Thankfully, he wasn''t carrying a rifle, instead, the only thing in his hands was a clipboard.


    As the doctor moved to my side, examing the monitors the woman began to speak.


    "My name lieutenant Anderson. Dr. Palmer here is going to ask you a few questions. You answer those, and we can talk about getting you out of those restraints."


    I decided to answer with a nod, best not to say anything that might piss off the people with guns.


    There was an awkward silence as the doctor examined the monitors around my bed. After making a few notes he moved back to stand with the others.


    The doctor flipped through a few pages on the clipboard before looking up. His nervousness had dissipated a bit, but he still looked tense. After taking a shaky breath he started talking.


    "As the lieutenant said I have a few questions here for you. Please answer them as quickly as possible, any hesitation might affect the outcome. Any questions?"


    He spoke is a rushed manner, stumbling on a few words as he went. I couldn''t help but wonder what had everyone so concerned. I hadn''t done anything that I could remember. My musings were interrupted when he spoke again.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "I''ll take your blank stare as a no. We''ll start with a simple question, name?"


    "Ezra." I blinked in surprise. I had responded automatically, with no thought about the question one way or the other. I didn''t particularly care about the name itself, it was as good of one as any. But I wished I knew why I had said it. A question for another time I supposed.


    "Full name please."


    Unlike last time, nothing leaped out of my mouth. I hadn''t put any thought towards one, and I wasn''t exactly prepared to come up with one on the spot.


    "Just Ezra."


    He made a note on the clipboard and continued. A lot of the questions were nonsensical and often left me scrambling to think of an answer. How was I supposed to know what the color blue tasted like?


    All of the questions were simple one-word answers, and any time I hesitated for more than a few seconds he would just make a mark and move on to the next.


    Things continued like this for some time. Honestly, I was pretty confused by the whole thing. It didn''t seem like the questions were supposed to make any sense. Maybe it was a test of my mental state.


    Eventually, the questions just stopped and the room was returned to silence. The doctor continued to write on the clipboard muttering under his breath as he went.


    As he worked the I could feel the tension in the room increase steadily. It got so bad that I swear I could see the young guy with the rifle start sweating.


    Eventually, Doctor Palmer let out a sigh of relief, handed the clipboard to the lieutenant, and just like that the tension in the room evaporated. The lieutenant glanced at the papers and before handing them to the other guy.


    "Jenkins, send this to Alpha, tell ''em we''re all clear, and make sure to get the sergeant out of quarantine."


    She added that last part like it was almost an afterthought. The lieutenant reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys, and started working on the restraints.


    "I suppose you have a few questions, that''s fair, but my time''s valuable, so I''ll only hit the big ones. For anything else ask Jenkins, as of today his only job is making sure you don''t do anything too stupid."


    I opened my mouth to speak, hoping to finally get some answers. To say I had a few questions would be an understatement.


    "Wh-"


    She didn''t seem inclined to let me speak, however, because she kept talking like I hadn''t said anything.


    "I suppose you want to know why you''re locked up. I''ll do my best to explain things in a way that you can understand."


    She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing.


    "Every week the Dome resets and brings with something new. Each week is generally more dangerous than the last until after the fourth week, where it goes back to being a cakewalk.


    One thing that always remains consistent is the type of threat. If the city has recently been hit by a demon invasion, then the only thing you''ll find in that city are demons.


    The only time you find humans is if they are part of that threat. In the demon invasion example, the only humans you''d find are cultists, demon worshippers, or something along those lines."


    She paused for a moment to start working on my cuffs. It didn''t take a genius to see where this was going. She was implying that I was related to insects somehow. Was I related to those insects somehow? I shuddered. The lieutenant continued, ignorant of my thoughts.


    "There were only two reasons that I even considered letting you live. The first of these being that no threat ever leaves the Dome unless it''s pursuing someone. Before you ask why no one knows. It''s just one of the many unexplained rules of the Dome.


    The second being that over the last two centuries twenty-six anomalies have been recorded, only two of which were human. The rest were completely different from each other.


    The anomalies are weird can be anything. The weirdest one I know of is a giant, fire-breathing cockroach, and just like normal humans, they are completely unaffected by whatever keeps threats inside the dome.


    That little test you just took was designed with the anomalies in mind, with the idea being to weed out anything that only looks human from an actual human. So I suppose some congratulations are in order, as far as the government of New Philadelphia is concerned, you''re human."


    Her last sentence was emphasized with a click from the last handcuff as it came off my wrist.


    "So what now," I asked, "You just going to let me go?"


    "Sadly, no. Jenkins will take you through an abridged version of orientation, after that, you''ll be sent to the capital." She paused for second before adding, "Or you could just leave, not like I''m gonna stop you."


    With that, she opened the door and left. When the door closed I the room was left in silence, broken only briefly by her yelling for Jenkins.


    I sat in silence, lost in my thoughts. She had given me a lot to think about


    <hr>


    I was pacing when the door opened again. The was unlocked, I had checked a few minutes earlier. As far as I could tell nobody would have cared if I had left, just like the lieutenant had said. But I had nowhere to go, and besides, I still needed to get my stuff back.


    In walked Jenkins, he had ditched his rifle at some point and had lost most of the nervousness along with it. When he saw me he extended his hand, which I took, and introduced himself.


    "I''m Private Frederick Jenkins, friends call me Fred. You''re Ezra, right?"


    Fred looked like he was in his early twenties, and still too young to grow a full beard. He had blue eyes and brown hair, and now that he was smiling, he looked kind of cute, well, in a puppyish sort of way.


    "Yep, that''s me. Lieutenant said something about an orientation?"


    "That''s the plan, though there are a few things we need to take care of first. Most importantly," he gestured at my gown, "are some fresh clothes."


    He stepped outside for a moment and came back in with a small cart.


    "Everything that was on you when the Sarge pulled you out of the lake''s in here. Well, except the pistol of course. I took the liberty of providing you with some spare clothing. A lot of your old stuff''s a bit singed."


    I''ll be waiting outside while you change. When you''re done, come on out and I''ll take you over to Alpha Site."


    Them moment he left I jumped on the cart, looking through the things he had brought. I pulled out the clothes, looking for my watch. I had gone through most of the pile without seeing anything, and I was starting to get worried. These guys had stolen it, had they?


    I shouldn''t have worried, there it was, sitting at the bottom of the pile in all of its glory. I let out a breath I didn''t know I had been holding. This was one the few things I had ever owned, I''d be damned it if I lost to some stupid laser beam.


    Everything else was there too if a bit worse for wear. The cargo pants and the t-shirt were singed, but still wearable if necessary. The boots and the leather jacket were both fine as far as I could tell. The only real casualty was the backpack, all of the plastic on it had melted, making it impossible to open. Not that I cared too much, clothes were replaceable, the watch wasn''t.


    Speaking of replacements I found the clothes Fred promised me. It wasn''t much, a pair of pants and a tank top, but it was better than the scorched clothes I had.


    I ditched all my old clothes save for the jacket; they were probably the best fitting clothes I''d ever worn, but seeing as there were only two other contenders, that didn''t really mean much.


    When I put my watch back on it buzzed at me, reminding me that I had outstanding notifications. Let''s see: Extreme Dehydration, High Lactic Acid Blood Content, Deadly Temperatures, Mild Radiation Poisoning.


    The first few were unsurprising, but the last one was more than a bit worrying. According to the logs, the radiation had maxed out as high as 400mSv, whatever that meant. Hopefully, mild radiation poisoning didn''t have too many long term effects.


    Dressed and reunited with my watch I was ready to go. It was time for orientation, and after that well who knew.


    I couldn''t help but grin, things were finally starting to look up.

 Chapter 6

    Fred looked up at me as I came out of the door. He was leaning against the wall opposite the door to my room, fiddling with one of his cuffs.


    "You got everything?"


    "Yep, I''m good to go."


    "Cool, it''s a bit of a hike back to alpha, so we''re taking the bikes. If you have any questions while we''re on the way, feel free to ask."


    Having said his part, we started walking down the hallway towards the exit.


    "Is this orientation thing common?" I asked. Major said there were only two other humans who had come through the dome.


    Fred scoffed, "You must have misheard, two human anomalies maybe, but not two humans."


    Seeing the confused look on my face he continued,


    "Every few years or so the Dome will disappear and instead of any threats appearing, it will just dump a load of people. We call those refugee cities. Everyone here on Erros is or is related to someone who came through a refugee city.


    Whenever the Dome drops like that, governments all over the land will scramble to scoop up the refugees. In New Philadelphia, we take ''em through an orientation before granting them citizenship. Same thing you''re about to go through now."


    We were outside now and I took a moment to enjoy being in nonfreezing temperatures again. The disparity between the inside of the Dome and outside was night and day. Instead of a frozen wasteland, we were surrounded by lush hillsides, and the temperature was cool, not freezing.


    We had come out of the hospital into a tiny little fort that consisted of only a few buildings. A road ran through the middle of the place and continued towards the Dome. The Dome itself sat only a few hundred feet to the right. It was imposing as always, towering over everything in sight.


    I turned back towards Fred who was angling us towards a shed near the road.


    "Can you explain the Dome to me?"


    "Well, what do you wanna know?" Fred asked.


    "Everything I guess. Who built? Why? What does it do? How does it do it? Those kinds of things."


    Instead of responding he just laughed.


    "If I knew the answers to even half of those questions I''d be a lucky man indeed. But I''ll tell you what I do know.


    The first people arrived here around the early eighteen hundreds; only a few thousand at the time, but things have grown since then.


    Each week the dome brings a new threat and with it, new technology. The bigger the threat, the better the tech. You can make a handsome sum if you get lucky enough. Some people have found things more than a decade ago we still can''t replicate today."


    I glanced down at my watch. Something better than this? That sounded nice, really nice. Maybe I''d look into that after this whole orientation thing.


    We had arrived at the shed, inside were four old, beaten down dirtbikes. The rest of the shed was almost barren, consisting of a few tools like shovels and picks.


    I couldn''t help but wonder at the state of their equipment. Was this it? Surely the military was better equipped than this?


    As if reading my thoughts Fred started to speak,


    "These were recovered a few years ago from one of the week one cities, nothing really special to ''em, but they work and that''s enough."


    He moved over to a cabinet in the corner of the shed and started fiddling with something in one of the drawers.


    "You guys steal everything from under the Dome?" I asked, only half-serious.


    "Actually, that''s pretty much the truth. The only thing we mass-produce on the west side of the Dome is food. Everything else is imported either from the Dome itself or our neighbors to the North.


    The industrial revolution never really kicked off here like it did back on Earth. Why make it when you can steal it, right? Some of the bigger countries and city-states have a few factories, but that''s peanuts compared to the stuff back home."


    Done with drawer, he pulled out two pairs of goggles and threw one of them to me.


    "Hasn''t rained in a few days, with the kind of dust we''ll be kicking up you''ll be needin'' need those. You know how to ride one of these things?"


    I nodded. Amnesia is a weird thing, as far as I knew I had never ridden one of these things before, but I knew how they operated. I had a feeling that much like using a gun, this would be second nature to me.


    "One on the right''s yours then. It''s about twenty minutes to Alpha, but the trail''s pretty straightforward. If you lose me just remember to stick to the right."


    He hopped on the bike and kicked it into gear. Doing the same I followed behind him; it wasn''t long before we were out of sight of the buildings.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    <hr>


    The path followed the dome around its base, occasionally diverging to the left towards what looked like hunting blinds. As we went, I noticed a few other soldiers walking along most heading in the opposite direction from us.


    The trail was really more of a footpath, not really meant for vehicles of any kind but more than suitable for our bikes to travel.


    The area we went through was only a few hundred feet from the Dome, and from here I could once again see the swirling patterns that moved along its side. On the right, maybe a mile away, trees started to sprinkle the landscape slowly increasing in number before turning into woodland.


    Eventually, we peeled off the footpath and onto a dirt road that ran perpendicular to the Dome. We followed this road until it, along with several others, diverged onto one central gravel road.


    From there, it was a straight shot to our destination. As we approached, I realized that this place was much more expansive than the outpost I had been at prior.


    For starters, the entire fort was surrounded by a log wall. At the base of the wall where the road entered the fort, there was a small gatehouse. Fred and I stopped there, where he said something to someone inside who ended up waving us through.


    The buildings inside were much more expansive than the ones at the outpost had been, but none of them were more than two stories. All around, people moved between them like ants scurrying from one place to the other.


    We stopped at a garage, where Fred and I left the dirtbikes. Fred went to go take care of something further in the garage while I stepped back outside.


    The gravel road we came in on went through the center of the base, until it hit the other wall where it became asphalt and continued in the same direction as far as I could see.


    As far as I could tell the only cars in the entire base were in the garage I had just left. Everyone just got around the old fashioned way I guess.


    Fred came back out of the garage and we started towards one of the buildings.


    "I''ll take you through orientation tomorrow," he began, "you''ve already gone through the worst of it with that information dump I gave you earlier.


    Over there''s the mess," he gestured to a building across the street, "food''s not very good, but it''s free. To the right of it is the barracks, that''s where I''ll be if you need me.


    You''ll be staying in one of the guest apartments, probably not as nice as whatever you''re used to, but it sure as hell beats the tents most refugees get."


    He had led to a series of small duplexes that sat near the entrance we had come in earlier. He led me inside one of them before speaking again,


    "Feel free to wander around, just make sure not go past any locked doors and you should be good. Dinner''s served in about ten minutes, feel free to eat as much as you want. I''ll be back here in the morning and we can get this orientation thing over with. If you need me, you know where to find me."


    Once the door had shut behind him I took a moment to examine the apartment. It was small, consisting of only the entrance, a bedroom, and a small washroom.


    I left my jacket on a chair near the entrance before continuing further inside. The bedroom had a small twin sized bed along with a drawer. On top of the bed, there was a duffle bag containing a few extra sets of clothes as well as various toiletries.


    I brought the duffel over to the washroom, where there was a sink, toilet, and shower. I wasted no time turning on the shower; the water was cold but it along with the soap I had been provided succeeded in getting the past few days worth of gunk off me.


    Clean for the first time that I could ever remember, I was tempted to enjoy sleeping somewhere comfortable for once, but my stomach urged otherwise.


    Eager at the prospect of something other than protein bars I made my way over to the mess hall. I realized I must have spent more time in the shower than I thought because by the time I got there dinner was almost over.


    The food wasn''t nearly as bad as Fred had made it out to be, but it certainly wasn''t gourmet either. I guess anything was better than what I had been eating.


    Dinner over with, I went back outside. While I had eaten, the sun had moved behind the fort walls, and I knew it wouldn''t be long until it disappeared entirely. That combined with little interest in exploring the rest of the fort sent me back to the apartment.


    When I arrived I immediately threw myself onto the bed, eager to sleep on something actually meant for sleeping. The bed was alright, but I cared little for the quality. It was an actual bed after all, that alone made it better than everywhere else I had ever slept.


    Sleep wasn''t too hard to find, which was a little surprising seeing as I had woken up only a few hours earlier. But by then I was too tired to care.


    <hr>


    I woke up to someone knocking outside my door. It was early in the morning, and I was definitely not ready to get out of bed. Unfortunately for me, the knocking didn''t stop.


    "I''ll be out in a minute" I yelled, hoping that would get the mean person outside to stop. Thankfully, it did. But that also meant I had to get up.


    Slowly, I rose out of the bed and rubbed the sleep out my eyes. I had slept well, and if it wasn''t for being suddenly awakened at seven in the morning I probably would have been in a good mood.


    I threw on one of the spare sets of clothing, grabbed my jacket, and went to the door. Where I saw Fred waiting for me.


    "Why''d you wake me up so early?" I questioned in mock anger. "There''s barely any light in the sky!"


    A stupid grin appeared on his face as he replied,


    "Early bird gets the worm, besides the sun is up, you just can''t see it because it''s behind the Dome.


    Honestly, though, we have a lot of stuff to go through today, and I''d like to be done before lunch."


    He paused for a moment before adding, "Breakfast started half an hour ago, so you might want to hurry over there before the mess closes."


    That woke me up. I pushed past him, not wanting to spend the next few hours both tired and hungry. What kind of people eat breakfast at six in the morning anyway? Lunatics, all of them.


    Breakfast was ending right as I entered the mess. Most of the food was gone, but at least I managed to snag a few bites to eat.


    Fred sat with me as I ate, but didn''t eat anything himself. He''d probably eaten before he went over to wake me up, which is why I almost missed breakfast.


    When we were done he led me over to a small building on the opposite side of the base. Fred explained to me that this was usually done a few hundred people at a time and that with only one, a lot of the process could be accelerated.


    When we got inside he gave me a desk and a stack of papers to start filling out. A lot of the questions I couldn''t answer on account of my amnesia.


    When I asked Fred about it he groaned.


    "Amnesia is a pretty common side effect of whatever the Dome uses to bring refugees here. Usually, we just tell them to leave it blank and move on, but command told me to be thorough with you so I guess we''re going to have to do this the hard way."


    He explained that the government used to have everyone with amnesia tested in a variety of skills and subjects to determine their competency, but that had been done away with after the volume of people increased.


    He reached into my stack of forms and pulled out most of them, telling me to answer the rest of the questions as best I could. The rest of the questions generally asked about my origin, where I was from, when I was born, what city I had entered in, and things like that. Most of those I had to leave left blank.


    I was sitting back in the chair, happy that my workload was relatively small when Fred came back. In his hands was a pile of papers that was almost as tall as my fist. So much for finishing by lunch.

 Chapter 7

    I was absolutely exhausted. Fred had tested me over hundreds of various topics, each with varying levels of success. The testing had continued long after lunch, only finishing when it was dark out. Thankfully, it was over with, and all the I had to do now was a few physical tests.


    But that was neither here now there. Right now, all I wanted to do was sleep. So I stumbled into my apartment, barely bothering to take off my shoes, and collapsed into bed.


    When I woke up next, it was still dark out, and I felt like I had only slept a few minutes. Like yesterday I was awoken by loud staccato noises from outside my door; unlike yesterday it certainly wasn''t someone knocking.Instead, I heard the unmistakable sounds of gunfire.


    I stumbled out of bed, unsure of what was going on. As if in answer to my question, I heard people yelling from far away before being drowned out by a siren.


    Something was definitely going on, the gunfire all but confirmed this wasn''t a drill, and the siren told me it was dangerous, but I wasn''t exactly eager to stay here.


    I could have easily barricaded the doors, hunkered down, and prayed whatever was going on would end soon, but that didn''t sit right with me. For some reason, the thought of staying here didn''t sit right with me. I didn''t like the idea of dying defenseless, holed up in some flimsy house like a coward.


    Mind made up, I went towards the exit, but to my surprise, the siren cut out. Was it really over that quickly? No, it wasn''t. The yelling had been replaced by screams, and the gunfire had even gotten louder. Whatever was going on out there, it had only gotten worse.


    I slowly opened the door trying to see what was happening. A soldier was running in my general direction, the fear in his eyes told me he wasn''t running to something but, rather, away. When she saw the door open she changed course, eager to get out of the open.


    She never made it. A black shard the size of a knife pierced through her gut, shortly followed by two more: one in the leg and one in the chest. It took her a moment to realize what had happened, but when she did she let out a scream of pure pain.


    I closed the door just enough so that only my eyes were visible to the outside. allowing me to see what happened next. Her momentum carried her forward a few more steps, but before she fell, something pounced on her from behind.


    Something vaguely humanoid landed on her, pushing her to ground. As I watched it leaned down toward her head and its jaw dislocated. With a practiced motion, it swallowed her head whole before standing up and spitting it out like a piece of used gum.


    As it stood its features became more apparent. It had long gangly limbs and a bulbous head, placing it firmly in the uncanny valley. Its legs were abnormally long, splitting off at the ankle into two parts. The front looking like a normal foot, but the back where its Achilles tendon should be was a wicked obsidian spike.


    Its arms were long too, at their full height they reached down below the things knees. Its hands had recessed all the way up to its elbows, and in place of the forearms were three long claws, made of that same obsidian that seemed to permeate every facet of this thing''s body.


    Its head was the least human part of it all, It was much thinner than a normal human head, but where its face should have been, there was only a gaping maw. As it turned I realized that its head extended behind it ending in a curved point, again made of the obsidian like substance.


    The thing was completely naked but lacked any kind of sexual organs. Its flesh was covered in obsidian shards, sometimes on its flesh like armor other times sticking out like spikes. Wherever it wasn''t covered by the black matter it instead had pinkish skin freckled with spots of blood.


    As I watched it raised its head up, and let out a terrifying screech. Then it turned and ran back in the way it had come, likely searching for its next victim. It moved quickly, not quite as fast as the pouncer I was familiar with but much faster than a human had any hope to.


    When I was sure it had gone, I opened the door slowly and stepped out, head on a swivel. If the amount of gunfire was anything to go by there were at least a dozen of these things around.


    I couldn''t see anything nearby, in fact, the entire area around me looked completely deserted. I moved over to the decapitated corpse, constantly looking around me. I had seen a rifle when she was running towards me, and I desperately wanted some kind of weapon.


    I flipped the corpse over off its stomach and took the rifle. It was some kind of M-16 variant that came with a strap that I put on my back. It was fully loaded, she hadn''t even bothered to fire before she ran. As I reached for her service pistol I hesitated.


    This woman had been running towards me mere moments ago and here I was looting her still-warm corpse. I shook my head, banishing any thought of morality. It wasn''t like I was taking her valuables to trade at my local pawn shop. She held the keys to life, my life, in her hands; I''d be damned before I let those slip out of my grasp.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Moral crisis averted, I took the pistol and shoved into my back pocket. It was an old 1911, continuing the theme of American weaponry. Something to ask about later I supposed.


    Done with the corpse I took another look around me. Still clear. Now that I was closer, I had a better view of the woman''s head. It looked like it had been crushed and there was a hole in the back of her cranium. I shivered, it was a horrible way to go


    I moved back over to the wall of the apartment and edged my head out into the main street. There were a large number of corpses scattered about the street, most of them decapitated. The only two that weren''t without a head were similar to the creature I had seen earlier.


    I needed to make a plan. The way I saw it, there were two options. Either get the hell out of here or help exterminate these things. The main gates were closed and I couldn''t be sure the woods were clear of these things either.


    I guess I was staying put for now. That meant I needed to find somewhere safe, where I could wait out this whole mess without the fear that something might break down the door.


    A scream from behind me interrupted my thoughts. A woman had come from around the other side of the apartment area. She was limping towards me, wearing nothing but a t-shirt and her underwear.


    From behind her came an inhuman screech, and suddenly something shot from behind the corner, its momentum carrying it out into the middle of the street.


    Without hesitating, I fired a burst of bullets into its torso. The thing dropped into a roll before springing back up with a wail. Its previous prey forgotten; it turned towards me.


    It started towards me, but before it could get up to speed I put another two rounds into its mouth. That seemed to do the trick because it went down like a sack of potatoes. I let out a shaky breath, and then I put another round into its head for good measure.


    Turning back to woman, I saw she was lying against the wall to my apartment, clutching her leg. I jogged over to her, throwing my rifle onto my back.


    As I approached I could hear her whimpering, almost crying. There was one of those black spikes sticking out of her thigh. The poor thing looked like she was on the verge of tears, and she was breathing way too fast to be healthy.


    Now that I could see the wound up close, the spike looked just like obsidian. It was about the size of my thumb and about a foot long. It had pierced all the way through her thigh and was visible on both sides. There was only a bit of blood at the moment, but I knew if I tried to remove that would change.


    I put my hand on her shoulder and started talking to her.


    "Hey," I whispered reassuringly. "I''m going to get you someplace safe ok? Do you think you can walk if I help you?"


    At first, I thought she hadn''t heard me, but eventually, she nodded and started speaking in a pained whisper.


    "I can walk. There''s a safe room under the lab I was working at, we should be safe there."


    A safe room, that was just what I needed. The only problem would be getting both of us there. At that, a thought wormed its way into my head: I wasn''t responsible for both of us getting there.


    No, I squashed that idea before it could develop further. I knew that trying to save her would only slow me down, but I couldn''t bring myself to just leave, especially after I had already promised to protect her.


    "That''s where we''re heading then. Let''s get you out of here."


    I pulled her up, careful not to let lean on her injured leg. Instead, I let her lean against my left side, trying my best to act as a makeshift crutch. Using my right hand, I pulled the 1911 out of my pocket and we were ready to go.


    We started slow, partly due to fear, and partly due to her injury. We barely spoke as we moved to the lab, only talking when I paused to ask for directions. She seemed confused at that but didn''t voice anything. She must have thought I was a soldier.


    As we walked I noticed that the gunshots that had once rung out constantly were now diminished to sporadic bursts, often accompanied by a wail from one of the creatures.


    The lab turned out to only be a few buildings away, and we were able to make it there without incident. We entered through a back door that led into a cold storage room, filled with numerous monstrosities of varying sizes.


    After that, all we needed to do was go the end of a hallway and down a flight of stairs into the saferoom. I closed the door to the storage room and stepped out of the entrance into the hallway. When my eyes reached the end of the hallway I froze.


    One of the creatures had found its way inside, and it was crouching over the corpse of a man. His head was lying off to the side, already removed from his neck by the creature''s powerful jaws.


    The creature was turned away from us, and it had one of the man''s arms elbow deep into its mouth As I watched it bit the arm clean off at the elbow, swallowing it whole.


    I glanced at my newfound friend whose eyes were wide open in terror and she looked like she wanted to scream. Thankfully for us both, she wasn''t that stupid.


    I put a finger over my mouth in the universal sign for don''t say a fucking word and started lowering us both to the ground. Without making a noise I put the pistol back in my pocket before reaching over my shoulder for the rifle. In one smooth motion, I took aim and fired two bullets into the back of the things head.


    Only to realize that whatever crystal-like substance made up most of its body was bulletproof. Because of fucking course, it was. Turning towards me the creature reached for one of the many spikes adorning its body and yanked it out before throwing it at me.


    I dropped into a crouch, barely avoiding the incoming spike which sunk into the wall behind me. I shot another burst at it, eager to hit its relatively unprotected face. Instead, my bullets bounced off the thing''s arm which it held in front of its head like a shield.


    It started running at me completely arm still held in front of it, blocking any means of an easy kill. Cursing, I readjusted my aim to its torso and fired until I heard the hammer click. The fucking thing only stumbled before it jumped at me, claws outstretched.


    I rolled to the side, letting the rifle fall from my hands and dangle at my side. When I got back on my feet I wasted no time pulling the pistol out from behind me.


    The thing had sailed past me and the prone woman and was lying face up a few feet away from us. Now though, its face was unprotected. I fired three shots into its head, watching in satisfaction as it stopped moving.


    I turned back to the woman and pulled her onto her feet again. Pistol in hand, we started towards the end of the hallway.


    There were four doors in the hallway excluding the one we came out of, two led to bathrooms, one to the lab itself, and one to the stairway. I moved past each of them first, looking for anything that might want to jump out and kill us.


    When I opened the door to the stairwell all hell decided to break loose. I heard the sounds of multiple glass objects breaking coming from the lab, shortly followed by crashing sounds and a cacophony of fierce screeches. The damn things had come in from the windows.


    At best, I had five bullets left in my pistol, not nearly enough to kill however many things were coming for us. With a small whelp, I threw the woman next to me into a princess carry and started running down the stairs two at a time.


    When I hit the bottom of the stairs, I heard them bust through the door at the top. My heart racing, I sprinted down the length of the hallway, eventually ending in a vault door with a keypad.


    Without even being told, the woman in my arms reached out with shaky hands and entered a six-digit code into the pad. When she was done the vault door started to unlock.


    The moment it was wide enough, I threw the woman inside ignoring, her cries as her leg hit the floor. I stepped inside behind her, pulling the door closed as I went.


    My last view of the outside was three scrambling over each other at the bottom of the stairs and then the door shut. Just as the locking process finished I heard them scratching at the door and tearing at the door. When they realized the door wasn''t yielding easily they let out a collective screech of sorrow.


    A monitor above the door was connected to a camera at the opposite end of the hallway. The bastards weren''t even making a dent in the door. When I noticed that I let out a sigh of relief. We were safe... at least for the moment.

 Chapter 8

    It wasn''t long before the creatures outside the saferoom gave up. From the camera, it looked like they all just stopped in unison before chittering amongst themselves. Then they all just ran out of sight of the camera, and I assume back up the stairs, in search of easier targets.


    Done with the monitor, I turned my attention to the interior hoping to find a solution to the whole giant-spike-in-leg problem facing the other person inside.


    The safehouse was small, barely being able to hold ten people even if they were crammed inside like sardines. Despite the lack of space, it was well provisioned with food, water, and medical supplies. There was even a gun locker in the corner; something to check out once my more immediate concerns were taken care of.


    For now, I moved to the first aid kit. Inside were all the usual things, gauze, dressings, cough pills, etc. But it also had a few things that I definitely didn''t recognize: something labeled general necrophage cure, a canister full of bio-foam, and dozens of other small things. Taking the kit off the wall, I moved back over to the woman.


    "I''m going to take care of this wound now, ok?"


    She nodded with a grimace.


    "My name''s Ezra, what''s yours?"


    As she spoke I started laying out the various items I was going to need. I knew my way around dressing a wound, that much was obvious, but I certainly wasn''t a doctor. I hoped this attack would be over soon, she clearly needed more help than I could give.


    "I''m E-Emily," she stuttered.


    I had laid out everything I thought I would need: gauze, bandages, morphine, water, and something called a STEM injection. The label said it was best used for large wounds, and this certainly applied.


    "Ok Emily, I''m going to remove the shard soon. I need you to stay as still as possible, you got that?"


    Another nod.


    I had already injected her with the morphine, so now the hard part began. I reached down and gave the crystal an experimental pull. A pained moan emanated through the room, but the crystal had moved, which meant it probably wasn''t barbed.


    "Ok Emily on three. One... Two-"


    I pulled the crystal out as hard as I could. It slid through the wound with only minor resistance, but there wasn''t enough morphine in the world to stop something like that from hurting.


    Ignoring the heart-wrenching scream that pierced through the chamber, I poured some water through the wound, placed the gauze on either side, and started wrapping her thigh in bandages. All told the procedure probably took about thirty seconds, but it sure as hell felt a lot longer.


    I looked back to Emily''s face, about to try reassuring her some more, but she was asleep. Passed out from the pain, I guess, probably for the best anyways.


    I got up, using the rest of the water to wash the blood off of my hands. I decided to start rummaging through the various shelves and containers. There wasn''t anything interesting, just food, water, and other essential items. I did manage to find a few pillows and blankets which I gave to Emily.


    Done with the boring stuff, I moved over to the gun locker. Surprisingly, it wasn''t locked, not that I cared, gun safety was the least of my concerns at the moment. The majority of the stash consisted of the same 1911 that was already tucked into my pocket, but it wasn''t all disappointment.


    There were three spare magazines and two extra boxes of ammo, all of which I took. But the thing that really brought a smile to my face was the pump-action shotgun at the top. I wasted no time pulling that out, as well as its two associated boxes of shells.


    There was nothing else in the bunker, so I sat down against the wall opposite to the entrance where I could keep an eye on both the monitor and Emily. I decided I would stay here for at least a few more hours if there wasn''t anything happening by the time daylight hit I would leave.


    Done loading the shotgun and the magazines, I put the spare ammo into one of the pockets in my jacket. Then, with the shotgun lying across my lap, I put my head back and tried to relax. I had at least six hours to kill here, and I desperately needed sleep before I went back outside. It wasn''t long before I found it


    <hr>


    There were people outside the door; they were talking in hushed voices but made no move to enter. It was almost eight in the morning now, and I had slept longer than I intended to, but at least I felt refreshed.


    The people on the monitor were soldiers, two males who had splotches of blood over their uniforms. One of them was gesticulating wildly at the other. Curious what was going on, I put my ear to the door.


    "-one job, Mike. How in the hell did you forget the code?"


    "It''s been three months, man. Would you remember something like that for three months?"


    "What do you propose we do then? Just go back and say ''well we couldn''t open the thing so we have no clue if anybody''s alive. Whoops.''"


    I pulled my head away from the door, I was tempted to see how long they would stand there and argue before trying to knock, but I wasn''t in the mood to stay in this confined space for that much longer. Instead, I moved over to Emily trying to wake her up.


    Turns out she didn''t need my help because she was already sitting upright amid all the pillows I had placed around her. If it wasn''t for the blood-stained bandages it would have been almost comical.


    "Seems like the rescue team is here," I started. "You need anything before we go?"


    "Some painkillers would be nice."


    When it wasn''t infected by pain her voice seemed much less timid, and her body language as a whole implied a level of confidence that wasn''t present last night. I supposed that was good, but what did I know? A psychologist I was not.


    I rummaged through the medkit and pulled out a bottle of painkillers and grabbed a bottle of water off the shelf before tossing both of them to her. When she had downed them I offered my hand and pulled her up.


    Supporting her much the same way as I had done last night, we walked over to the door. While we were waiting for the door to unlock Eily suddenly decided to speak.


    "Thanks."Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Her voice had suddenly regained that almost delicate quality from before. Only now instead of being tinged with fear, there was humility and a bit of nervousness that I decidedly didn''t like.


    "For what? The pain meds? Don''t mention it."


    I knew what she was talking about of course, but I didn''t really feel like I deserved whatever praise she wanted to give me. I had entertained the thought of leaving her to die, being thanked for it didn''t really sit right with me.


    She stammered, trying to correct me, but then the door opened and she became quiet again. Mike and his angry friend had stopped bickering when they heard the sounds of the vault door unlocking. Now they came in, holding rifles in front of themselves.


    When they saw us, they lowered their weapons and Mike came over to help me with Emily.


    "Schmidt," Mike spoke addressing his partner, "go tell Sarge we got two live ones down here... and don''t mention anything about the code."


    The one named Schmidt turned and ran down the hallway while Mike and I half-carried half-dragged Emily down the hallway. I was able to keep my shotgun my holding it in an underhanded grip in my off-hand, though if they were looking for survivors I doubted I needed it. As we walked I asked Mike about what had happened last night.


    He told me that a mercenary group had kited around a hundred of the crystalloids out of the Dome by accident. Most of them were wiped out as they left the Dome, but a dozen or so had made it all the way to the base. Last he checked at least twenty people in the base alone were dead and there were dozens more who had been stationed along the outside of the Dome.


    When I asked him if any of the crystalloids had gotten away he told me that it was impossible to say, but he wouldn''t have been surprised if patrols found them lurking in the woods for days to come.


    When we got back out of the lab I was able to see the full extent of the damage. Most of the buildings were completely fine, some had busted windows and doors or black spikes sticking out of the walls, but were otherwise untouched. If only the same could be said for the people.


    There were dozens of body bags lined up outside the barracks, and as I watched another corpse was pulled from inside and sealed up. There was also a fire in the middle of the street, where the bodies of the crystalloids were being dumped and unceremoniously burned.


    Mike led us over to the hospital and left us standing there at the entrance before running off somewhere. With the help of one of the nurses, I was able to get Emily to a bed where I was promised she would receive care. I left the room quickly, eager to get out before I was put into another awkward conversation with Emily.


    I went back to my apartment and changed out of the bloodstained clothes I was wearing and making a silent promise to take the time to wash my jacket. Abandoning the shotgun in my room, I went back out to help see if I could help with the recovery efforts.


    <hr>


    Most of the day was spent in the barracks, helping the soldiers move corpses and clean up viscera. By the end of the day, the final casualty count was well into the hundreds, and of those seventy were dead.


    I found Fred a few hours after starting to help, laying in a common room in a pool of his own blood. If it wasn''t for the fact his head was only a few feet away I don''t think I would have recognized him. At that point, I was so deadened to the carnage that I barely reacted to him, he was just another body to move. But later when I had a break the emotion caught up to me.


    I had barely known him, but that didn''t change the fact I had talked to him just a day ago. It made his death a lot more real, I guess. It also put into perspective what I was doing. Every body hauled was a person who had been alive just hours ago, every ounce of blood cleaned had just recently been flowing through someone''s veins. I guess it just showed how thin the line between life and death was in a place like this.


    The day passed quickly, and soon there was nothing left to do but clean. I helped for a bit but eventually, I just stopped. I was tired of looking at all the blood, stepping in it, trying not to gag on its coppery stench. I was under no obligation to help after all, and no one cared when I turned in my mop and left.


    Dinner was being served so I went to the mess first, but when I got there I realized that I was in no mood to eat. Instead, I went back to my apartment and started preparing. I had no interest in staying here in this place of death. I decided I would leave to tomorrow, all I was missing was the passport Fred had mentioned.


    That was the plan then, grab the passport and leave immediately afterward. I didn''t know where I was going or even how long it would take to get there, all I knew was that I couldn''t stay here.


    A knock on the door interrupted my ruminating. I got up from sitting on the bed and meandered over to the door. It dark out again and as far as I knew there was no reason for anyone to come and see me. Emily was standing at the door holding a bottle in one hand and a cardboard box in the other, and unlike last night she was fully clothed.


    I stood in the doorway, stupefied, for a few seconds before she spoke.


    "Are you going to let me in or are you going to make the person with the injured leg stand here all night?"


    She was being sarcastic, but I still rushed to get out of her way, mumbling a half-apology as I went. With a light laugh, she moved inside before making herself at home at the small table that lived in the entranceway. Following her, I sat down across the table. There was a brief awkward moment of silence that I was hesitant to break. Fortunately, Emily broke it for me.


    "I never got to thank you for the whole saving my life thing, so I guess this is me doing it. So, as a little gesture of my appreciation, I brought drinks."


    She emphasized her statement by pulling out the bottle I had noticed earlier as well as two shot glasses. While she poured the alcohol I tried to stammer out some form of thank you.


    "Thank me? I should be thanking you. A little shit-tasting alcohol doesn''t even begin to cover how much I owe you. So quit trying to thank me and drink."


    She shoved a full glass into my hands before downing her own. Following suit, I threw back my glass and downed the alcohol. She was right, it wasn''t the best thing I had ever tasted, but the burn was pleasant.


    "Look," I began, "the gift is appreciated don''t get me wrong, but this really isn''t necessary."


    She laughed again, a laugh that was ebullient and merry, starkly contrasting the events of the night before.


    "Of course it''s not necessary, but it makes me feel better, besides I haven''t even gotten to the good stuff yet."


    As she spoke I realized that she seemed in way too good of a mood for someone who had been looking at death yesterday. That combined with the slight slur in her speech told me more than enough about how she had spent the last hour. I gave the mental equivalent of a shrug as I poured myself another shot. She probably had the right idea anyway.


    She had bent down and reached into the box when she came back up there was a familiar black crystal in her hands.


    "I''m sure you recognize this. What you might not know is that this small piece is worth at least a couple hundred dollars."


    She handed me the crystal before moving back to the box which she pulled up onto the table.


    "Well, I managed to claim scavenger''s rights on the three you killed so now you have enough of the stuff to make a full set of body armor or sell for tens of thousands of dollars."


    My jaw dropped to the floor, stunned. It took a second for my brain to process everything she said, caught up as it was, on the whole, I''m fucking rich part, but when it did I realized something was off.


    "Wait did you say three, but I only-"


    She cut off my words with a shushing noise before flashing me a conspiratory wink. I understood the implied message pretty clearly: shut up and enjoy the gift. So, instead of pressing further, I took another shot.


    "How would you like to make that much every month?"


    I almost choked on the alcohol when I heard that. Who the hell was this woman who could just hand me tens of thousands of dollars without so much as a blink, and then offer me even more?


    "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I can''t just take that as a gift."


    "Oh, the job''s not a gift; it''s recruitment. You performed remarkably well under pressure, and I know for a fac your skillset would be extremely appreciated."


    As she talked she had begun to lean over the table like she was trying to tell me some great secret.


    "I thought you said you worked here at a lab?" I asked.


    "That was a temporary affair, New Philadelphia managed to acquire a live specimen from the Dome a few weeks ago. One of my favorite hobbies is examining the fauna produced by the Dome, so when I heard about it I had no choice but to visit. Besides, it''s not like they were in a position to say no."


    That was cryptic, to say the least, but she didn''t seem willing to elaborate. However, I was to say I was interested would have been an understatement. Leaning forward over the table as she had, I told her as much.


    "Glad to hear it," she replied. "I can''t go into specifics until you''ve agreed to the job, but I will say its dangerous, well paying, and you can start as early as tomorrow."


    I hesitated at the word dangerous. Considering the only skillset of mine she had seen was me killing stuff, this job was looking a bit less promising. I glanced at the shot glass in my hand. I probably wasn''t in the best state to make life-changing decisions.


    "Can I think about it? Give you an answer tomorrow?"


    She frowned at that, probably expecting me to agree right away.


    "Afraid this offer expires when I walk out the door. I''m leaving tomorrow morning, I need to know if you''re coming."


    I was probably going to regret making a decision while inebriated, but it didn''t look like I had much of a choice. I decided that I would at least try to make an educated decision, even if I would probably say yes in the end.


    "Can you at least give me a bit more to go on? If I''m going to work for you I need to know what I''m doing."


    "You''ll be inside the Dome mostly, maybe doing some work out of it, but that''s rare. You won''t be working for me though; in case it wasn''t obvious I''m not accustomed to fieldwork. I''m much happier in a lab."


    That sounded good enough for me. I had already considered going back to the Dome, even if it wasn''t serious consideration. Besides, if it didn''t work out I could always quit.


    "Consider me hired."


    "Welcome to the Hundred and First."


    She punctuated the sentence by offering me her hand, which I shook. Her grip was surprisingly strong, despite her lithe frame.


    "Your first job starts tomorrow, you''ll be acting as my bodyguard until I return up North. My last one... lost his head for such things."


    An uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach, what the hell had I gotten myself into.


    "Now that we''re done with that, I have two more things to discuss. First, you can keep the weapons you stole; I''ve paid for them and you can consider them part of your hiring bonus. And Second," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small plastic card, "this is your New Philadelphia ID card. I took the liberty of passing all of your physicals."


    The card was similar to a driver''s license or passport, but instead of my picture it just had a flag I didn''t recognize.


    Name: Ezra


    Hair: Blonde


    Eye Color: Purple


    Height: 163cm (5'' 6")


    Ethnicity: Caucasian


    City of Emigration: Los Angeles (March 24-31, 2020)


    Date of Birth: c1995


    Additional Info: Type A Amnesia


    The card was basic and didn''t tell me anything I didn''t already know, though it did remind me I needed to find a mirror at some point. However, there was something that didn''t quite make sense.


    "How did you get this?" I asked. "Shouldn''t I be the only person who can claim this?"


    Emily had already stood up at this point and was getting ready to leave. When she heard my question she flashed me an almost predatory grin.


    "It''s easy to get around all kinds of things like that if you grease the right wheels, especially in a backwater country like this.


    Be ready to leave tomorrow morning, we have a few days of travel ahead, so I hope you don''t mind long car rides."


    With that, she left, and I was alone once more. Well, I still had the booze. As I reached for the bottle, ignoring the shot glass completely, some important revelation bumped against the fringe of my consciousness. By the time I reached for it, however, the alcohol had already washed it away.

 Chapter 9

    There was a jackhammer pounding against my skull. No, wait, that was the alcohol, wasn''t it? I had sprawled out across the bed, with my feet laying on my pillows. Err- well my shoes were, I had apparently forgotten to take them off before I fell asleep.


    I got up slowly, still trying to get used to my lack of coordination. As I stood, my eyes caught a bit of light from the window, which only stimulated my headache. With a mental note to never drink that much ever again, I stumbled into the shower.


    The water helped a bit, but I still felt like shit. Sadly that didn''t change the fact that I had stuff to take care of. I went over to the duffel I had been given earlier and started packing. There wasn''t much to take, toiletries, clothes and the spare ammo I had stolen. Beyond that, I still had very little to my name. Everything I owned fit into a duffel, a box, and my arms; something I promised I would rectify as soon as possible.


    Soon, the apartment was in the exact same state I had found it. Just as I sat down to wait for Emily''s arrival, she showed up. I followed her over to that same garage that I had arrived in just days earlier.


    Was it really that short of a time ago? It felt like I had spent weeks here not days. Regardless I was happy to finally be done with the whole thing. In just a few short minutes I would finally be subject to my own decisions and their consequences, not those of some faceless government or military. There was some irony here I supposed, exchanging one manager for another, but at least it was something I chose. That had to count for something right?


    The garage had been almost completely unaffected by the attack, looking the exact same as I had left it, save for the absence of two bikes. Emily guided me over to the opposite end of the building, taking me to what I presumed was her car.


    The first thing I noticed was how much newer the car was than anything I had seen so far. It looked almost new, and if it wasn''t for the copious amounts of grime all over it I would have assumed as much. The car was actually a large truck, but it had a closed bed instead of an open one.


    At Emily''s instruction, I threw my stuff into the back, where I noticed there was a menagerie of boxes and bags already there. The only things I didn''t put back there were the shotgun and pistol, the shotgun went in the backseat, and the pistol went into a holster Emily had loaned me.


    My gear stowed, I stepped into the passenger seat, and before I knew it we were gone.


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    It ended up being a day and a half before we reached the city Emily worked at. The trip itself was only about four hundred miles, but without interstates, they didn''t pass very fast.


    As we went I saw a few people on the roads, some driving, some walking, and I even saw one driving a horse-drawn cart. But that was far from the only anachronism, there windmills that looked like they plucked right out of the medieval period. A village I spotted in the distance had both log cabins and cars.


    Despite our slow pace, the scenery changed quickly. We only stayed in the woods for the first part of the first day, after that we onto a road that took us over a great plain that spanned almost a hundred miles.


    While we traveled Emily took the time to give me an idea of geography. I had come out of the Dome into the westside of Erros, known for its low population and abundance of city-states. We were moving through the northwest portion of Erros now, on our way to the more "civilized" and densely populated north. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The Dome took up the center of Erros spanning nearly a hundred miles across. She mentioned that the Dome would remain at the size regardless of the size of the city inside. Back in the old days, people would use this to their advantage, traversing a twenty-mile wide city only to end up a hundred miles away from the starting point, though with the advent of motorized transport that had changed.


    I also learned that Erros was contained within yet another dome, though this one was completely impenetrable and much harder to observe. This much bigger dome spanned around seven hundred miles, but its border was inconsistent with its smaller cousin.


    Many who went near the border found themselves turning away from it for no apparent reason, and when asked why they often couldn''t remember approaching in the first place. Those who were unaffected found themselves unable to continue after a certain point, blocked by a grey wall.


    There were two more regions with Erros, the east which remained largely untamed and the south. The south, according to Emily, was comparable to the American wild west, a safe haven for criminals and outlaws alike as well as housing numerous nomadic tribes. Any attempts to penetrate it by organized government always ended in failure. The desert was much too barren to support large groups of people.


    The country we were headed to was located almost to dead North of the Dome. It was small by Earth standards, but the note of pride I heard from Emily''s voice when she claimed there were three whole cities under its flag implied it was pretty large for Erros.


    It was called the Republic of the Motherland, founded shortly after World War 1 when a city full of white army Russian soldiers emigrated from the Dome. Nearly a hundred years later they had expanded into one of the most powerful and advanced nations in Erros; its capital boasting one of the few skyscrapers ever built.


    When we stopped that first night we were still out in the middle of the great plain. Despite doing nothing, the day had been way too long for my liking. We had pulled over to the side of the dirt road and were sitting on top of a small hill.


    Once I had stretched out my sore limbs I couldn''t help but notice the sky. Sitting at the center of the sky like it owned the world was an entire galaxy of stars. There was almost nothing else in the sky, maybe one or two other orbs of light, so that grand centerpiece was the sole thing commanding my attention. It wasn''t until Emily asked for help setting up camp that I was brought out of my stupor.


    That night was otherwise completely unremarkable to me. The food was poor, the ground was hard, and my limbs were sore, but that great celestial being still stands out in my memory.


    We got up early, Emily wanted to be back home before lunch and I was eager to see something besides the interior of the truck and the infinite expanse of grass.


    A few more hours of driving later and I noticed that mountains had appeared in the distance. According to Emily, the capital of the RoM laid at the base of them. In an act of completely original naming, the capital was called New Petrograd.


    As we got closer I noticed that we moved off the dirt path and onto a paved two-lane road. With the change to roads also came a change to scenery, we had moved away from the rolling plains and into farmland. As we got closer to the city I noticed that more and more houses dotted the countryside, surrounded by vast tracks of farm goods.


    People started to emerge, mostly farmers out and about their daily business, but occasionally I would spot another traveler. I noticed a significant increase in the number of vehicles, many of the farmers owned various modern farming machines and trucks for hauling.


    As suddenly as it began, the farmland stopped and was replaced by the outskirts of the city. The city was small, there was almost no suburban area to speak of and the city itself was only a dozen miles wide. But most of the buildings within were at least two or even three stories high. In the distance, I could see much larger buildings that towered above the rest like mighty gods looking out over a sea of mortals.


    When questioned, Emily told me the city was home to around a few hundred thousand souls, and that the country in its entirety held almost a million.


    Soon the car slowed to halt and we pulled up to a rather large building that stood just outside the city proper. It looked like we had finally arrived.

 Chapter 10

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


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