by Roharp17
Chapter 1
Under the flickering glare and hum of the fluorescent lights, a young man in a lab coat stared nervously at the screen with tired, drooping eyes. Numbers displayed in a tiny box on the screen slowly counted down. The numbers 00:00 flashed on the screen and the young man didn't dare make a sound as he held his breath. This was the moment of truth, would his efforts be for naught, or would he be forced to go back to the very beginning yet again? There was a palpable pause before the machine went into its cooling phase. Laughter, that only the truly insane could appreciate, escaped through the doorway into the empty hallway outside the tiny room.
The results of the first sample displayed on the screen, showing everything was within acceptable parameters. Many hours earlier the machine had come out of calibration. Usually the very contaminants it tested for sometimes clogged the machine. Now that everything was right with the world, he only had about, oh... 500 more samples to run and, of course, everyone wanted rush turnaround. He leaned back and rubbed his hands across his face, then pulled them through his hair.
Looking at his watch, Danny decided this was definitely going to have to run all night. Fortunately for him, once he started a batch of samples he technically didn't have to be there. He just prayed no hiccups happened while he was away. It was already past 8pm so there was no reason he was staying here any longer. He was starving and his back was killing him from bending over the table, mixing and remixing the required calibration solutions.
He picked up his mobile phone and turned off the lights to the room out of which he worked. Walking through the lab, he quickly confirmed that he was indeed the last one still working that night. His boss had helped him earlier, before she had to leave for a family event. She was a great boss and thus he was very understanding. He had done this long enough, he knew he could eventually fix the issue.
While opening the back door to the lab he saw that it was pouring rain. He made sure the door locked behind him before running to his lone vehicle in the employee parking area. Being the last one there, he didn't want to be at fault for leaving things vulnerable to theft. Financial transactions for the lab were all done electronically, but some disreputable groups were always looking to acquire some of the chemicals stored there to help mix up compounds for more... recreational purposes.
Danny stopped by his favorite burger joint, picked up supper, and headed towards his house. After renting an apartment for years he decided he would upgrade to a home. He had set up a rent-to-buy deal with the owner and was making small improvements when he had time. Hopefully he could save enough to buy it outright.
The town he lived and worked in was on the small side. There were quite a few industries in the area and this small town was smack-dab in the middle of them. The local industries that utilized the lab were willing to pay the increased costs for the quick turn around, and thus Danny was able to make a decent salary. Increasing rental costs in the town drove Danny to look for a way to purchase a home. If the town continued to grow he could easily see his plan to purchase becoming an excellent investment.
Pulling into his driveway, he sat in the car and watched the rainwater flow down the sides of his house's roof. It was letting up a little but he didn't see it stopping anytime soon. He seriously wished at that point he could have found a house with a garage. No one else lived with him. His last girlfriend was months ago. The small town didn't host a plethora of young single woman looking to date a "devilishly handsome" chemist. His hopes of finding someone nearby were slim. Hopefully the town would grow some and bring in more people.
Sighing, he quickly grabbed his dinner and jumped out into the night, racing up the concrete walkway to his front door. Right as he got to his front step he slipped and fell backwards. As his perspective turned skyward, Danny could see the burger bag and keys he had been carrying, as they now flipped in the air. They seemed to orbit each other in some sort of intricate dance. The soda cup in his other hand was simply crushed in his grip, releasing its contents in a dark arc. He let out a high pitched scream, that would not be recognized by many to come from a male of his species.
Danny had not just fallen backwards but also slipped to the side. The side of his head found the brick of the raised bed next to his porch. He was struck across his temple and one of his eyes. Pain lanced through his head and he groaned piteously. His car's headlights had yet to automatically shut off. In the light from the vehicle, Danny had been unable to see what he had slipped on.
Opening his good eye he noticed something floating and flipping his way through the rain right above him. He turned his head to look at it and winced as he felt the unevenness of the bricks below him. The edges of the bricks dug into the back of his scalp, causing him to hiss involuntarily. Through his one good eye he could barely make out a rectangular shape. As it fell into the light cast by his car, he caught a glimpse of a professionally-done photo of a woman on the front. Groaning once more, he realized it was more than likely some local realtor, wanting to help him sell "his" home.
The brochure floated slowly down and landed right on top of Danny's good eye. Groaning at the insult added to his injury, all he could see was her mouth. Those teeth seemed to be brighter than was possible given the amount of light that made it over to him from his car. Inhumanly white teeth grew to encompass his field of vision. Through the rain and his own moans he could have sworn he heard the maniacal laughter of a man coming from behind him. As he tried to turn to look for its source, a new pain shot through his head and his world quickly faded to black.
A note from Roharp17
Edited by SkrmnMrgsm
Chapter 2-3
Danny awoke slowly to darkness and a feeling as if his whole body was pulsing to the beat of his heart. He had never felt so tired in his life, and consciousness was a fleeting thing. His thoughts were incomplete...
He couldn't focus for very long and the constant beating of his heart, raging through his body, stripped him of every chance of putting two thoughts together. He fought to get free. Every time he could manage to take in his surroundings it always seemed closer. Everything seemed to slowly close in all around him, suffocating and restricting.
Infrequently, he would recognize muffled noises and lights of different colors. He thought he recognized some of the noises but couldn't focus long enough to remember where he had heard them.
As time passed everything got impossibly tighter, the walls closing in completely around him. He hated this feeling, this place. He had to get out or he would surely die.
Then everything changed.
* * *
The walls around Danny began to undulate and squeeze against him as he was suddenly moved. He was forced into a place of absolute darkness, devoid of all sound save his own heart beating. This seemed to go on forever then a shockingly bright light pierced his eyes and then pure noise stabbed into his eardrums.
He closed his eyes as tight as he could, but found he was unable to hold his hands to his ears as he wanted. He was lifted into the air and swung around by something under his back. His arms flailed uselessly as he fruitlessly attempted to balance himself. He tried to scream but he only ended up coughing as he discovered fluid in his lungs. His coughing fit lasted only a few seconds until he could breathe again.
Exhausted, he lay there as his limp form was jostled around roughly, until he was wrapped in something soft. He sensed something looming closer and then it covered the top of his head. He noticed, from behind his closed eyes, the lights in the room intensify. A rush of warmth enveloped him and permeated his overly exhausted body. He felt slightly bet
ter.
Deep, booming voices filled the air around him. Danny tried opening his eyes but they still hadn't adjusted to the light level. Eventually, through briefly squinted eyes, he could only make out vague shapes and colors. Unable to figure out what was going on, he was frozen with fear. He lay there, not daring to move. His heavily labored breathing was the only thing betraying his failed attempt at stealth. He wondered if the air here was thinner as his body struggled to take in enough air to fuel his body.
Once again he was moved and Danny felt his faced pressed against something like a soft wall. Fearing he was being suffocated, he struggled to turn his head away but he could only move it slightly from side to side. He struggled and opened his mouth to scream. Before he could get out a sound, part of the wall rushed in and filled his mouth. Fortunately he could still breathe through his nose but no matter how much he fought he could not get away from the wall or eject the part between his lips. In self-defense he bit down, and fluid rushed into his mouth. With no other option he was forced to swallow the liquid, causing more of the fluid to fill him as quickly as he drank.
This continued till Danny felt he couldn't consume anymore and he began to gag. The wall quickly receded from him and he lay there. He couldn't remember ever being so exhausted. With his nerves shot and his body empty of strength, Danny gladly accepted the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.
A note from Roharp17
Edited by SkrmnMrgsm
Chapter 4
Danny's existence turned into one of complete helplessness. Either hunger or exhaustion claimed his every thought. How long he existed in this state, he could not reason as time held no meaning for him. Eventually, his lungs became accustomed to the thin air and his eyesight improved but he could only make out the things closest to him. He was used to being near-sighted and wore contacts daily, but his eyesight was now worse than it had ever been.
He tried to make sense of what had happened to him. Was he in the hospital? Where were his glasses? He couldn't see far enough to make out a table next to where he was laying, or anything for that matter. Worse, his body refused to respond as it used to. He was relieved he wasn't paralyzed, but the way his body didn't respond the way he wanted it to reminded him of stories he had read of people recovering from spinal injuries. Yes, the weird sensations he felt and experienced could easily be attributed to his eventual treatment at a local hospital. His mind struggled to attach logical associations with his experience since he had awoken.
All of his theories were thrown out the window with what was suddenly presented before his eyes. Golden hair and brown eyes, the face of a young woman. Her head filled his view, like the Earth looming over the horizon of the Moon. She was gigantic. As she smiled down at him, she cooed and touched his nose with a massive finger. Danny was so overcome with fear he froze in place. The words she spoke held no meaning to him. While she was undoubtedly human, many of the sounds she made did not come from any of the human languages he knew. She laid him down in a shallow area filled with blankets. Released from his fear, Danny tried to escape but found he could barely rock from side to side, let alone flee.
Danny struggled to move his hand up and in front of his face. Shaking and uncoordinated, a swollen and bloated looking thing rose to the side of his vision. That's as far as he could get it to raise. Looking down further, his arm was in the same condition. Taking a deep breath, he could not deny it any further.
Starting to hyperventilate, Danny cried loudly and uncontrollably as he accepted the truth of his situation. His new 'mother' came over to the crib to pick up a baby Danny. She comforted him and rocked him. Checking his cloth diaper first, she then lowered him to feed him, thinking him hungry. Accepting this comfort, Danny ate his emotions until he was full and promptly fell asleep.
Staring up at what he could only assume was a ceiling, he still couldn't see very far. Danny had awoken calmer than before. Trying to ignore what had escaped his bowels and now settled in the cloth rag they used as his diaper, he contemplated how he had gotten to this point. He vaguely remembered the event of him falling and the pain in his head. The next memory he had was him waking in what he now suspected was a womb. Danny shuddered as he had an innate fear of confining spaces.
Reincarnation was something Danny had not believed in. Despite his best efforts, he could not come up with a better explanation that didn't involve aliens or a different version of himself, sitting alone in an all-white room, drooling onto a strait jacket. There had been no white light at the end of a swirling tunnel. No standing at the shore of a river as an ancient and withered man steered his small boat towards him, a long pole pushing the craft through the fog. Reincarnation being the simplest solution, Danny wondered why his memories from his previous life still remained. Also, by accepting this reality, he had to accept that he had died there, that night in the rain on his front porch. Death by junk mail. A true hero's death! Oh the songs they will sing of his final great battle with that rectangular piece of paper! How depressing...
Deciding to accept his situation, he knew he had months of laying here ahead of him until he could raise his head, sit up, crawl, and eventually walk. He was not looking forward to this. Maybe with his knowledge of human development he could expedite this process somehow. He wondered again if his current predicament was like someone who had received nerve damage and was forced to retrain his body to function. He would also need to try and learn the local language at the same time...
He suddenly thought, *What is that!?*
In the corner of his vision he saw a small faint light. He figured it was one of those annoying floating things in his eye. He turned his head as much as he could, but the light stayed at the same point in his vision no matter how fast he moved his head. This was different than the eye floaters, those would appear to jostle around. Had it been there this whole time? Was it a sign of some sort of eye disease? Worried, he tried to focus on the light as much as he could.
*I can't be going blind now*, thought Danny, afraid.
He tried to steady his breathing as worrying wouldn't get him the answers he needed. In his previous life, Danny had suffered from anxiety and had learned breathing techniques to calm his nerves. Doing this now he purposely took deep, long breaths. He started going through his memories while continuing to focus on the light. In the past he had found that focusing on his issue helped him in learning to overcome the fear it caused. He was so focused he didn't even notice when the faint light began to expand, filling his vision. It took Danny a few moments to notice that the view of his crib was replaced by a strange room.
It looked like a study he would have liked to have at his old house.
He paused and excitedly thought, *I can see everything clearly!*
Looking around, there were a number of bookshelves and a single desk. The room was not overly large and the bookshelves took up the majority of the room. He looked down and discovered he did not have a body. Panicking, he looked around and saw a door.
Choosing to run, he moved towards the door and light once again consumed his sight. He was back in his crib, his heart was beating out of control, and he couldn't catch his breath. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing in order to calm down. He had little control over his emotions at this age and wasn't ready for someone to come and check on him just yet. With his eyes closed, Danny noticed the light was still there faintly in the farthest corner of his vision. It wasn't in the way, it would just take some getting used to.
Taking another breath, Danny focused intently on the light again and began slowly breathing once more. Finding himself back in the strange room, he paused to look around. Turning away from the bookshelves, Danny focused on the desk first. His perception moved towards it. It seemed his movement in this room was done by focus and intent. The desk was made from a dark wood and had ornate scrollwork carved all over it. It was very large, and had drawers on either side of the chair he now found himself “sitting” in.
It was weird not seeing his bod
y in the chair while sitting in it nonetheless. The large surface held a single piece of paper. Not paper like he was used to seeing, mass-produced and perfect. Looking closely he realized this was parchment. He vaguely remembered that it was usually made from animal skin, at least he thought so. The page on the desk held a language Danny had not seen before. It looked similar to Japanese or Chinese characters except blockier and less flowing. As he focused on the top page the letters began to melt as the page darkened. The dark stains began to shrink and coalesce into familiar characters.
Greetings young one,
Know this! Who or what you are is unimportant. What is important is that you are prepared for what we fear is to come. Read my words carefully and learn how the gift we bring you came at the cost of many lives.
They came to our realm like an all-consuming fire. Though no one learned what they called themselves, many came to know them as the Cataclysmic. By the time word reached us of their arrival to our world, the first cities of Man had already fallen. Seeing our end in sight, we worked quickly. Though their numbers seemed without ending we discovered a weakness. None that faced them doubted their strength but some aspect of our world worked against them and they could not survive long past a single turning of the seasons. It was not uncommon for our scouts to find their bodies without obvious injury, decaying as they lay abandoned by their kind. Our scouts that did return reported that near their portal they were building a great monolith. A team of sorcerers traveled to this location with our best scouts and determined its purpose. One of the sorcerers' familiars arrived a few days later bearing her last report. The monolith was deemed an unmaker. It would take apart those aspects of our world that resisted them, and in doing so turn it against us.
We immediately set about a great work of our own...