《Armgeddons Seed》


 Beast At The Door

    Rowan cautiously opened the door of the dilapidated market that he had discovered the night before. He had been wandering aimlessly through the verdant countryside along what he assumed was once a highway. For weeks he had been wandering and avoiding any settlement that he came across out of an irrational sense of caution. This small market that had offered him solace at the end of yet another long day of travel, it had been an unexpected blessing. For weeks he had been sleeping in abandoned hollows and dens and masking his presence as to avoid drawing any attention to his passing, only ever venturing out when the sun had burned off the early morning fog.


    There were many things in this world to be wary of in the depths of the night, and even in the brightness of the bearing sun there were dangers. Rowan had slowly made his way into the great valley that had lain beyond the great mountains, where he awoken alone several months ago. Rowan paused as the door creaked on rusted hinges. The sound piercing the relative silence of the barren stone yard beyond. He peered through the gap for long moments as his breath caught in his chest, he could feel his pulse quicken as he gingerly pulled the door closed.


    ¡°The fog is heavier than usual this morning.¡± Rowan puzzled aloud as he pushed the bolt through the eye of the door. ¡°Though, it was a warm night, so it stands to reason that in the cooling air of the early morning the fog would sock in¡­¡± He began to pace in frustration, rubbing his face with his hands and wiping the sleep from his eyes. He paced along the long narrow counter that had dominated the store front in years past, before the roof had caved in. There was still enough room to move about comfortably in the small market room, but it was still, musty and cramped, he longed to feel the sun on his face and had no desire to stay overlong least he be discovered.


    When he had discovered the hovel, it had been unoccupied though there was evidence that in the recent weeks it had seen traffic. He had approached the shelter with great care and taken great care to search though its reaches. Only after exhausting himself did he proclaim in his own mind that it was fit for a night and settled down. His efforts had been rewarded though, in his exploration of the rubble and counters he had discovered a shall cache of good beneath some fallen timbers. Two small jars of preserved peaches that had escaped destruction and in another small hole he had discovered some bandages, several needles and some cutsthread. When he had finally awoken, he had enjoyed the rare delicacy of peaches with his smoked meat rations.


    Rowan continued in his pacing as he tried to occupy his mind. He had never considered himself a brooding individual, but in this strange world he found himself in, it had saved him from many blunders. He occupied his time with rolling his bed and repacking his stores. Rowan found a simple pleasure in the menial tasks and set to them with great focus. Once he was done, he pressed his back against the wall and slowly slid down to rest next to his pack crossing his legs and ran his hands though his hair scratching the back of his head as he let out a deep breath.


    ¡°You found me!¡± a small voice suddenly sounded.


    Rowan rushed to his feet as he pulled the pitted iron knife from his belt and held it in front of him, his eyes darting around the dimly lit space. He could hear his heart in his ears and feel his breath in his chest as he searched. ¡°Wh¡­who is there!¡± he stammered as he swept the room from the corner.


    There was no reply to Rowans words.


    Rowan licked his lips in anticipation as he slowly reached down and gripped the strap to the traveling pack, he carried, gently lifting it over his head and pushing it to his back, ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m leaving now.¡± He said aloud as he began to slowly make his way towards the door at the far end of the counter, keeping his back to the shelves as he sidestepped. His head swinging wildly on his shoulders as he tried to find the source of the faint voice.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave.¡± The faint voice replied softly.


    Rowan paused again as he again tried to identify the source of the voice, it had seemed so close to him when he was sitting against the wall, though now when it spoke, it didn¡¯t sound like he had gained any distance from the voice. ¡°What game is this¡­¡± he thought as he took another step.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me, it is no game.¡± The faint voice pleaded sorrowfully. ¡°Don¡¯t open the door.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry strange voice.¡± Rowan said firmly as he made it to the door and gripped the bolt that was held fast in the eye, he pulled it free and let it drop to the earthen floor, ¡°I really must be going now.¡± He threw the door open and made to run into the yard but frozen in his steps as he turned. There just beyond the pickets now lay a great grey and white warg.


    The great beasts¡¯ ears had heard the door as it cried on its hinges, though it had yet to rise to its feet. Rowan saw that the sun had burned off the fog though now he was trapped in the doorway. The overlarge dog like creature began to stir, its ears flicking atop its massive head as it gained its feet and sniffed the air. Slowly Rowan backed into the market and took a deep breath, his heart threatening to burst free of his chest.


    ¡°Close the door!¡± the small voice said shrilly in panic as Rowan stood with his back pressed against the wall.


    Rowan took a series of deep breaths as he tried to convince himself into motion. He wanted desperately to move, though fear gripped his entire body. ¡°STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!¡± he though repeatedly. He didn¡¯t dare to reply to the voice, as if his first thought hadn¡¯t been to close the door. But what would he be shutting himself into the room with? He though as he surveyed the room.


    ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you, just please, please close the door!¡± HURRY!¡±


    That was all Rowan needed to move, he quickly turned and reached for the door, risking a glance out the door before he swung it closed. In that moment he and the great warg had locked eyes across the modest yard. The door slammed shut as the beast lunged, its body impacting against the sturdy wooden frame. Rowan began to panic as he held the doors rough iron handle in his left hand and reached to the floor where he had dropped the bolt. The warg continued to scratch at the door, growling as its thick sharp claws dug into the wooden planks. Rowan could smell the great beast, as the door shuttered from another heavy impact. He felt a surge of victory as he deftly slammed the bolt back through the heavy iron rings that served as the lock on the door. He fell back against some rubble, atop his pack and heard the breaking of glass as he landed.


    ¡°NOOOO!¡± He moaned as he rushed to remove his pack, pulling the rough leather flap back as he pulled from the pack several shards of glass, ¡°Damnit!¡± he though in pain as he pulled the broken jar of peaches from his bag in a bloodied hand, the contents of the jar making a mess as he tried to salvage the sweet fruit from among the glass. Luckily most of the jar had remained intact when he fell, only breaking the uppermost portion of the jar. He quickly wrapped the cut on his finger and retrieved the jar from the night before and transferred the remnants of the second jar into it. ¡°That would have been a shame...¡± he said aloud as he knelt next to his pack.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± the faint voice asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Rowan said sharply as he stood up, looking around the desolate space again, ¡°Where are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so happy you can hear me Rowan.¡±


    Rowan knew that he had never said his own name as he continued to seek the source of the soft voice. And he felt a chill something of a chill work its way up his spine, ¡°What do you mean by that? Of course, I can hear you.¡± His voice was more speculative as he began to review his own thoughts. ¡°Won¡¯t you come out?¡±


    ¡°You, you put here a long time ago¡± the small voice replied softly, a hint of longing tinging the statement. ¡°I have waited for you, I waited for so long! Please could you free me Rowan?¡±


    Rowans throughs screamed in his mind. ¡°What is this? There is no way in hell that I am going to free this thing, it could be dangerous or hungry...it¡¯s ¡­¡± Rowan shivered as he looked back at the door, but something more drove him to action. It was like an invisible hand was pulling on his mind, gently tugging him towards a distant corner. He knew deep inside that he needed to find the voice, he needed to know what this was and why it was calling to him. There was no doubt after that, with sure steps he walked to the rubble and began to pull at the rubble, bits of brick and mortar, tar and thatch flew across the room. It became an all-consuming task as his hand tore away at the refuse, Rowan felt a bestial part of his mind take over as he savaged his fingers and palms, soon the rubble that he threw was covered in small smears of blood. His breathing became labored as he drove himself to the task, ¡°I must find the voice.¡± He said over and over, his eyes widening and his brow becoming slick with sweat. For an hour he labored without fail, thoughts of everything else faded into the background. The beast at the door, the hanging mist that held him captive, none of that mattered and paled in comparison to what he pulled from the rubble pile.

 Locked Out

    Nadean burst from the room as the monitor beeped,¡° DOCTOR DURANT!¡± she yelled as she ran down the hall, ¡°Has any one seen Doctor Durant?¡± one of the other nurses, sitting at the desk pointed down the hall, as she looked up sleepily from the computer node, suddenly more alert as she saw Nadean¡¯s flush face.


    ¡°I think he was heading home for the morning Nade, What¡¯s wro..¡±


    Nadean didn¡¯t hesitate as she dashed down the hall towards the faculty parking lot. She was wishing under her breath that she could stop him in time. IT was a miracle; she sang as her heard beat wildly in her breast. Running as fast as her crocs would carry her down the vacant halls of the hospital. She turned out the door and stopped, swinging her head side to side as she looked for Durant¡¯s car, ¡°NO, NO, NO!¡± she screamed as she stomped her foot.


    ¡°Nadean?¡± a dry voice said from behind her.


    She turned on her heel as looked back towards the door, there leaning against the white stucco was Dr. Monty Durant. A thin clean-shaven man with heavy eyes and a soft southern drawl. He seemed entertained as he looked at Nadean, a tight smile on his face as he held his coffee.


    Nadean glared at him for a moment as she collected herself, ¡°You can¡¯t leave.¡± She said almost breathlessly, ¡°The boy¡­ in room 406... there was a reading on his monitor.¡±


    Monty pursed his lips as he absorbed Nadean¡¯s words, but he didn¡¯t move. He simply tilted his head side to side. He could see that the nurse was waiting on him to do something. He thumbed his personal node, marking the time and grunted, ¡°2:42 Am¡­Huh¡­What kind of reading was it?¡± he said then took a long drink from his styrofoam cup. Though he didn¡¯t feel much concern, he knew that there was a data patch coming though tonight, so a false positive wouldn¡¯t be out of the norm. For the last three years he had been dealing with newbie nurses jumping at every bright light on the node monitors. It was frustrating but, where else could he work with such cutting-edge medical technology.


    ¡°Sustained cognitive synchronicity!¡± Nadean half shouted, clear excitement dancing in her eyes, ¡°Nancy is still monitoring the pati¡­!¡±


    As she said the words, Monty felt his jaw fall slack, his cup slipping from his hand as he turned in the door and began to run down the hall, his boots slapping against the floor echoing through the night.                Nadean didn¡¯t miss a beat and was right behind him.  Monty felt a surge of energy fill his worn body, adrenaline and something else¡­ something he thought long since retired from his vocabulary¡­ he felt¡­ Hope...¡±


    He thundered into the quiet room where Nancy sat monitoring the node that projected from the desk. The nurse jumping from her seat as Monty stormed in, breathless and wild-eyed. He hurried to the terminal and began to read the collapsed chart clusters, and there among the clusters of collapsed widgets was the one monitor that had never truly served a function. The Cerebral-hypervirtual-excitement monitor, there was a steady wave slowly moving across the small widgets surface. Monty could feel his heart beating in his neck as he reached forward and tapped the widget expanding the information to view the chart. Instantly there was another panel opened and it was filled with prompts ¡°What the hell is this?¡± he said under his breath.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    {Directive Achieved}[Subject: Patient 0001} Last: ERROR First: ERROR


    Data Entry: Confidential


    Access Denied


    B/P: 70/100


    O2 saturation: 98%


    Connection: Stable[Tremor]


    E-kosat: 100%


    Neural Net Map: 100%


    Metabolism[Suppression]: 40%


    ACTIVE BODY Net: Limited: Require Admin Action


    Notes: 428761-562-889756*42 Achieved


    Admin: Rkronis-42- system activation- INITIALIZING


    ¡°Where the hell is the patient information?¡± Monty said sharply as he turned to Nancy, ¡°Never mind... continue to monitor the, I¡¯ll be back¡­¡± Monty waved his hand as he turned and clopped out of the room yelling as he went, ¡°I need to contact the technical department,¡± Suddenly he stopped and turned to Nadean who had followed him partially out of the room, ¡°Copy all data from this node and bring it to my office, I need to and stop the overhaul.¡±


    Nadean watched as Monty flew down the hall towards his office, his boots still slapping against the stark white floor. She looked back to Nancy who had resumed her place at the desk in front of the monitors, ¡°He does realize that all the information is cached in his office doesn¡¯t he?¡± She said with uncertainty.


    Nancy looked up from the monitors with bloodshot eyes, ¡°What do you expect? He¡¯s a doctor¡­¡± With that one liner she returned to her duty of monitoring the patient and fell silent.


    Nadean stifled a giggle as she thumbed her own personal node and requested the data from the terminal and watched as Nancy purposefully paused and glanced at her with sardonic contempt, arching an eyebrow wryly as her finger fell on the confirmation key.


    ¡°WHAT NOW!¡± Nancy shrieked as she began to furiously swipe at the various monitor screens.


    Nadean joined Nancy at the desk and saw a series of red warnings and screen locks. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Its locking us all out!¡± Nancy shrieked as she rushed out of the room and dashed down the hall to the cell. She slammed the door open and hurried to the pedestal and accessed the data, her fingers flew across the access screen, her breaths coming short and sharp as she cursed under her breath, ¡°Shit, Shit, shit, shit.¡±


    Nadean watched helplessly as the senior nurse cursed and typed furiously. She watched as the screen Nancy was viewing flashed black and lines of code shot across the screen, various subroutine boxes opened and closed as loading bars finished and then a single line scrolled across the black screen.


    Program Optimized: INITILIZING¡­


    ¡°GET THE DOCTOR!¡± Nancy bellowed as she looked at Nadean, ¡°HE NEEDS ..¡±


    Nadean didn¡¯t wait, she turned and dashed towards Dr. Durant¡¯s office. As she dashed by the other doors, she could hear the same warnings and guessed that the entire system was affected by what ever was happening. ¡°What did it mean?¡± Nadean screamed in her mind as she approached the door to Durant¡¯s office. She burst in and what she saw took her back. There were dozens of holo-screens flashing, and Monty was screaming at someone over his node as he darted from screen to screen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a rats ass what it takes Clyde!¡± Durant screamed as he continued to type furiously, ¡°What do you mean you¡¯ve been locked out! HOW THE FUCK IS THE IT DEPARTMENT LOCKED¡­ NO.. DON¡¯T YOU DARE TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!¡±


    Nadean stepped into the office and felt utterly invisible amidst the chaos and noise, ¡°DOCTOR!¡± she screamed drawing Durant¡¯s attention. He looked to the door with wild eyes as he held up a single finger.


    ¡°CLYDE, FIGURE THIS OUT NOW!¡± Monty slapped the node on his wrist then rabidly swiped his hand through the air shutting down all the screens. He suddenly looked haggard and worn as he looked back to Nadean, ¡°What is it now?¡± The words fell from his lips and into the strange silence that taken over the office.


    ¡°Nancy is locked out of the¡­¡±


    ¡°We all are Nadean.¡± Monty said flatly as he leaned forward, pressing his clenched fists against the cool surface of his desk. His sandy blond hair falling over his face as he whispered, ¡°what is going on¡­¡±

 Connection

    Rowan stood in the dimly lit market with a victorious smile on his face as he pondered the strange stone in his hand. It was small and warm against his palm as he turned it slowly in the dim light. There were small cuts and scratches that pained him slightly, but it was a phantom pain at best. He could feel warmth radiating from the stone, it was slowly building. The small voice had long since fallen silent, but in its absence, there was a growing sense of import, as if time itself stood still. Rowan felt whole as he looked at the stone and nothing else mattered.


    The was a bright flash from the stone and suddenly Rowan fell to his knees as his world devolved into a splitting pain in his head. The stone tumbled from his fingers as he began to roll on the dirt floor of the market screaming with his hands clutching the sides of his head. His vision blurred as his scream grew more and more piteous, tears first filled then streamed from his eyes. His howls of pain were mirrored by the baying at the door where the warg renewed its efforts. Rowan heard a cracking sound as his world collapsed into darkness.


    Rowan felt like he had been hit with a stone, but the world around him was dark and muted, ¡°Am I DEAD?¡± He felt disoriented and heavy as he lay in the darkness. ¡°No¡­¡± he said sarcastically. He no longer felt the intense pain in his head and he slowly began focused. ¡°I NEED TO GET UP.¡± He shouted into the void as if to encourage himself to motion and slowly made his way to his knees and looking around, squinting his eyes as he peered into the darkness, ¡°Hello?¡± Rowan said warily.


    ¡°YOURE AWAKE!¡± the voice said loudly from somewhere.


    Rowan turned and looked for the voice, but again saw nothing, ¡°Where are you? What have you done to me?¡± as he gained his feet and looked around, he finally saw a small light in the distance. He didn¡¯t wait for an answered, he just began to run towards the light. Rowan knew that where there was light, there was safety. As he ran, he noticed that the light moved slightly, there was no sense of direction to its movements initially, it just seemed to flit from one area of darkness to another. The brilliance of the light distorted his vision as he approached and stopped short and knelt in the darkness, then he watched the orb of light and felt a pang of familiarity with the situation, a sever sense of deja-vu.


    Suddenly the light settled and began to move with purpose and direction away from where he was kneeling. Rowan watched with cautious curiosity and interest, ¡°I definitely shouldn¡¯t follow the glowing ball through the dark¡­¡± he whispered sardonically as he stood up and let out a long sigh and began to follow the glowing orb. ¡°Find the voice, it will be fine¡± he continued as he crept along. ¡°I am full of fine ideas today...¡± Rowan wasn¡¯t bitter, but he did feel a bit silly as he skulked along in the darkness. He kept looking behind him, waiting for some horrible monster to emerge from the darkness and devour him. ¡°I¡¯m just being paranoid.¡± He kept telling himself, but it did little to sooth his frayed nerves. Rowan hated the darkness, he hated the unknown most of all, but what he truly loathed was the tickle that he felt in the back of his mind. It was incessant. With every step he took he felt like he knew more, like he was feeling more and understanding something ...more.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    It was as if this something was drawing him through the darkness, calling to him to follow, not heard but clearly felt. He kept one eye on his back and the other on the orb. After what seemed like hours the orb finally stopped and hung in the air roughly fifty yards ahead. Slowly and deliberately it began to descent towards the ground. Rowan was once again shocked when a black obelisk began to rise out of the ground. The orb came to a stop just above the four faceted point and pulsed brightly.


    It was like a beacon, Rowan reasoned as he waited for what would happen next. For long minutes he stood perfectly still and metered his breathing. Nothing happened, the orb just continued to flash over and over. Rowan began to count as the orb flashed, it was patterned. He could still feel something tugging on him, beckoning him. It was seductive and enticing and that set Rowan on edge, it almost overruled his generally cautious nature. All the same Rowan began to approach the onyx obelisk and pulsing orb. With every step his heart beat faster, matching the pulse of the beacon. ¡°Okay, this is creepy¡­¡± Rowan said as he stopped and stood in front of the orb. His hand was shaking as he reached out towards the rapidly pulsing light, bracing himself for what he knew would probably be painful. His brow knitted as he slammed his eyes shut and turned away simultaneously reaching out to the orb.


    Rowan waited for the pain as his hand rested on the orb but felt nothing but warmth and a sense of oneness. It was a gentle warmth that radiated up his arm, he felt a light breeze swirling around him, buffeting his hair and clothing. ¡°What is this?¡± Rowan thought as he slowly opened his eyes turned to look at the orb. His hand glowed and he felt exultant as the warmth surged through his body settling in his head and he felt his mind clearing. The darkness that had surrounded him began to vanish, replaced by polished marble and elegant columns of stone. The sounds of life began to fill the vacant space. Rowan heard running water and what sounded like a mockingbird calling in the distance.


    There was a loud sounding that captured Rowans attention suddenly, a crescendo of some strange melody that resonated through the opulent hall. Then a screen appeared in front of the pedestal, with a small golden dragon circling a world. Rowan was taken aback as he read the words that began to fill the screen.


    Welcome, Admin Authentication Confirmed.


    User Id: RKronis


    Avatar Name: Rowan


    Password: ************


    Days since last login: 1442 Days


    Synchronicity Achieved: Initialize Program? Y/N?


    There was a blinking cursor at the bottom of the screen next to the Y. Rowan felt something in his chest as he whispered into the darkness, ¡°Yes.¡± His finger pressed the orb, and rowan felt a slight click.