Radical-9

CHAPTER 29: Anomaly

February 25^th, 2022

4:50 am

I'm back looking at the bubbles of light, a new one has surfaced. I walk up towards it and look inside.

Just whose memory could this be? I highly doubt I'm going to be seeing this monster's memory of being created, so what gives?

I feel myself being pulled in and it goes dark once more.

I wake up lying against a hard surface. I sit up and my vision clears. I realize I’m lying on asphalt. And what else, I'm me. I'm not looking through anybody else's eyes. I look at my hands, and then down to my feet. I look up and I see nothing but ominous dark gray clouds. I also recognize that I’m outside of my school grounds.

I get to my feet and look around. Everything looks to be normal. The trees are all bare still, but that’s normal this time of year. I look down and I see that I’m in my normal clothes, my shirt and jeans that I was wearing in the real world.

What the hell is going on here? Even for something as chaotic as these memories there was at least some sort of train of logic behind them. This? I don't even know.

I hear a loud crack and then a few seconds later a huge bolt of lightning strikes the school behind me. I’m sent flying off of my feet and I collide with one of the trees. I hit pretty hard and then I fall to the ground and yell out in pain. I work my way to my feet and see that there is a large bruise across my chest. I can only see it because my shirt has a huge rip right through the front and I can see blood seeping through.

“Wh-What the hell?!” I cry out, it hurts to speak.

I begin to turn away from the burning building, but when I do I nearly double over in pain. I feel everything, yet I shouldn’t. This is just a vision...inside a virtual world. I shouldn’t be feeling this pain. It's almost two times removed from reality.

I have to limp to get away from the damage. When I bring my head around I notice I’m now standing in front of my house. I’m on the front lawn doubled over like I’d just been stabbed. How awkward this would look if someone were to come witness this. I doubt anyone will, this isn’t real...right? That's been the question of the hour, hasn't it? Is any of this real? I mean, of course, we're all experiencing it, so it must be. But it isn't in the real world, so is it not really real? What is real?

I stumble to the front door and throw it open.

“Hello? Anyone here?” I call out.

I enter the living room slowly. The television is on, but it is only playing static. I limp to the staircase on the backside of the room.

“Mom? Are you here? Jen?” I ask out, wincing slightly.

I slowly make my way up the stairs. It is hard enough walking, but this is almost unbearable. I hear another crack of lightning, but I don’t bother go see what it has hit. I continue on my path up the stairs. Taking each step one at a time, it takes me about a minute and a half to reach the top, but it feels like an eternity. I see the door to my room out of the corner of my eye and it is open slightly, unlike the other doors in the hallway. I can hear a low groan coming from that direction, as well. I slowly reach my bedroom door. Fear returning to my muscles, slowing them down and making them hesitant. A growing sense of dread spreads over my entire being.

I place my right hand on the door and push it open. It slams against the wall. I see a body hanging from a noose, just above my bed. I look upward to see where the rope is hanging from, but it only leads into darkness. My eyes travel alongside the rope all the way back down to the body.

I notice it is the same naked body that is latched on to me back before this hellhole. The creature’s body hangs over my bed. It’s face twitches slightly and then it looks straight up at me. I am frozen where I stand. All of a sudden the horrible creature opens it’s mouth wide. I can’t see much else but black and that black liquid from before begins oozing out of it’s mouth. It spills onto the floor and begins heading towards me. I try to run but my feet are planted right on the ground where they lie.

“Come on! No! Get away from me!” I am yelling, louder and louder as the liquid nears.

As it does it begins to bubble up and it makes contact with my foot. It burns instantly and I scream loudly.

It doesn’t care.

The Revenant continues spewing out the black ooze and it moves across my feet and then up to my shins. Each second it burns worse and worse as if acid had become sentient and began scouring every inch of your body. It works its way towards my knees and in a matter of seconds it’s at my waist. I can’t feel anything below my torso, it is one malignant pain I can’t get rid of. I see the creature begin shaking its body and then a slight glow around its neck where the noose makes contact.

I see the Revenant beginning to slide off of the noose and its head separates from its body. Both pieces of the Revenant fall to the floor with a thud, but it is only temporary. The body stands up firmly and there is the black liquid continuing to spout out of it’s neck stump at a much faster rate now. The Revenant's head begins rolling around in circles, spilling its contents onto the floor. The body continues ever so slowly to make its way near me. Every single appendage on it is twitching and spasming violently. My body is almost completely covered in the black goo, all the way up to my chest now. I’m crying openly and I cannot stop it.

The body finally makes its way to me and it places a sickly hand on my cheek. My heart rate increases to about a million beats a minute and it then places its other hand on the top of my head. It lowers its neck and the body fluids spray all over my face and I can’t move to avoid it or anything.

I finally find solace in darkness once the goo covers me completely and then I pass out. I only hear one whisper continuing on and on for what seems like forever.

“They’re all dead. Everyone is dead and you are alone.”

I can scream again, and I scream. Boy do I scream.

The darkness pervades. I don't know if the noises around me are my screams or only echoes of such. I can’t tell anymore. I look up slowly and notice that there is a light in the distance. It shimmers faintly and I reach my arm out to try and grab it. It isn’t of any use. I can’t reach it.

In the blink of an eye I’m lying on another hard surface. I don’t know if I’m even here anymore. I look around me and see that I am in some sort of building. The walls are all white and so is the floor. I see that the furniture seems to be an all matching black. I get to my feet and my head pounds horribly. Just then a sort of holographic screen appears in front of me. It displays a sort of familiar scene.

I see myself as I am signing up for Elysium. The huge avatar of Jack Adata floats before me. “Your adventure begins now, I am the Game Master, or GM for short. I will be watching over all of your activities and the activities of the other players. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

My head pounds as he says it. More and more holographic screens appear before me. Each showing scenes of my journey and each one making my head hurt worse and worse.

What is this?

I see another screen with Eldon on it, back when he was giving the speech to us in the crowd.

“I sincerely hope you all can make it along with us, because we're going to beat this boss down together!”

I remember this feeling. Everything stopped for me then too. Maybe this is showing me just times when people lie? That's the only thing I can explain it with.

I see Jen when she woke up from her vision about her father, Gregor from when we first met him, hell, even Lindsey when she first denied to spying on me. Everyone is droning into one distinct white noise that I cannot escape. I try to run, to escape the screens and their declarations about everyone. Everywhere I run to they follow. My heart rate increases and so does my breathing. I can’t control it and the next minute I’m on the ground, screaming.

I open my eyes and I’m staring into the face of Athena. Behind her I can recognize the ceiling, or rather floor, of the ship back in Elysium. I can feel my breathing returning to normal and I smile slightly.

“Thank God, I was worried there that it wouldn't ever end-” and then I feel a cold air roll through the ship. Athena’s face begins to crack and fall apart. Her smile turns into a crooked grin as chipped parts of her face begin falling to the ground. Her left eye rolls back in its socket and then falls to the floor. Half of the skin on her face has completely crumbled away and her right eye has changed to a dull green. It’s the creature again. I see it like I’m looking through a new lens. I’m back in the ship, yes, but I’m back where I had left it. The creature is grappled onto my body, holding my arms and legs in place with its own. I wish for anybody to separate me from this creature.

No.

I need to save myself. I can’t always expect Athena or Klein to rush to my aid when things gets real. I need to face this...fear with my own strengths.

I take a deep breath. I also realize I am still holding Flintlocke in my right hand. In one fell motion I command all of my strength to my right arm and thrust it upward. I see the Revenant’s left arm be flung skyward as it is separated from its body. The black goo seeps from the stump where the arm had been, but I can now use this opportunity of weakness to kick the horrid creature off of me. I ready Flintlocke in both hands as the creature is knocked back. I hold it upward and wait for it to charge, and then I stand there.

No, you don't have your old stuff anymore. That's not how this one works.

Lindsey finishes the job and cuts the beast in two, it melts into the black goo and drops to the ground. I stand there still.

“Are you okay?” She asks me, walking close.

“I...I don't know. I saw all of these images of us in here, it was so strange, and then I thought I had my old sword again, Elcor.”

“I'm going to be honest, I kind of miss your old duds. I guess it is more unique than having the same armor again just with a different color,” she says.

“I kind of miss having the old skills I used to have, also. Sure, I guess I don't get into as much trouble with Flintlocke, but I mean it just feels kind of weird,” I say.

“Well, there's not much we can do about it from inside here, we do have to get going, though,” she says, nodding her head.

“Right.”

We continue past the tables and past the repeating intercom, ceaselessly speaking and repeating.