Exordium

by Tyson Jordan

  The Instructor broke out into a run down the corridor, wincing from the pain in his leg but not daring to slow down. I followed him closely and suddenly looked back into the blackness, realising that Janus was with the other group of Initiates. I heard a rushed set of footsteps, panicked clangs against the floor, and saw Nacia’s long hair flapping in the gloom.

  Oh God … I need to kill, I need to avenge, I need to find a weapon, a sword, a gun, anything …

  Her face was desperate as she approached from behind. I stood fixed to the spot, unsure what to do. I should have run away with the rest of them, but there was the voice in my head that would not stop whispering, spurring me to act.

  Those thoughts that blazed through my mind burned me, scorched me. They gave a newfound, horrifying sense of purpose. I looked back to where Ferric should have been, but was greeted only with more gloom and eerie, buckled corridors. I had a vague idea of where I was, but the layout of the laboratory seemed suddenly twisted and labyrinthine. Nacia’s approaching footsteps were my only cue.

  The walls began to shake, pummelled into near submission by the monsters that were gleefully hurling themselves against their prison walls, screaming in joy. Their gleeful cries were matched by those of a despairing Erdedaughter somewhere far away. I thought I heard what sounded like a wet thump against the grated floor. Fear took its hold, and I turned to run with Nacia. Her gouged arm dangled uselessly at her side.

  “Where’s Janus? Where the hell are the rest of them?” My voice boomed as I picked up my pace, running just behind the slim woman.

  Oh God … I need to kill, I need to avenge, I need to find a weapon, a sword, a gun, anything … The fear was unbearable, the need for survival undeniable. I looked at Nacia’s long sword with eyes that were not entirely mine, its thin hilt dancing, bouncing to the beat of her rushed hips.

  Oh God … I need to kill, I need to avenge, I need to find a weapon, a sword, a gun, anything … The madness was louder now, whispering no longer but not screaming either. It was more than anger; it was simple compulsion, and I felt sick to my stomach. All thought had stopped, and there was only competing instinct. Run from them or for them …

  Before I could stop myself, I grabbed the haft of Nacia’s blade and jerked it out of its scabbard. My body moved under its own power, and I glanced back to see the wall close up. I had been only a few strides away. Ferric yelled something after me, my name perhaps, as I turned from them and stared into the darkness.

  I was alone, surrounded by monsters that should only exist in myths and legends, and for some twisted reason I welcomed it.

  7

  I See the World at Last

  Great flurries of sparks burst forth from the perverted walls and tainted light fixtures, raining down towards me in golden, electric maelstrom. I hurried, running from long-dead rationality, my cause becoming clearer with every step.

  I had no idea where I was going, for the lights taunted me and the echoing cries of the Malinvicta and the remaining Initiates bled into one another indecipherably. My bearings were gone, and there was only darkness and rust around me. The thought of being trapped was intolerable, leaving me more nauseated. I took a random right, followed by an equally arbitrary left. The long sword’s weight did not bear down on my arm as I wanted it to, the thin blade wavering weakly.

  The lights danced into oblivion once again, and I ran into a corroded but nevertheless very solid wall. I cursed in pain and aggravation, bringing my free hand up to inspect for damage. There was no bleeding, although the tears forming in my eyes blinded me further. The doors and corridors all shook violently, the prisoners hungrily slamming into them, desperate for living prey. I wanted to see them all before me, ready to taste unfeeling, thirsty steel.

  To my left was a barely recognisable sight—the window that Ferric had opened so long ago. I realised that Nacia had taken her group to the right and not the left, and I darted down the hall.

  These newer corridors were no different from the others, strained and twisted by the presence of the Malinvicta they held. Occasionally, a geyser of steam erupted from the wall, stinging my eyes and scalding my skin. Far ahead, I could faintly make out screams and a haunting, sporadic barking.

  My feet began making an odd splip splorp sound on the heavy steel grating, and I knew that it was blood. It was thin, almost watery; it belonged to an Ocean Dweller, and it gave me a grim trail to follow. It was once Nacia’s.

  I followed the trail around one bend, then another, and finally another, until I saw the familiar face of a girl from my class. She was lying on the ground, her head bent uncomfortably against the wall, and her eyes were closed. I crouched down next to her, looking over her body to see if there was something, anything, I could do for her. I touched her stomach for a moment, and immediately jerked my hand away from her slight frame as I felt something hot and wet. She moaned with pain and disbelief as I lifted up her shirt to see the wound. It was fatal. She was going to die in that pit and there was nothing I could do.

  “Help me …” she cried, her chest heaving as she coughed up a thick mix of blood and vomit. I rose to my feet, knowing that there was no time to console her. She could see her fate in my face, and let out a whimper. I did my best to look reassuring or even apologetic, but it had no effect. She relaxed her body, her last breath escaping from her, and I rose to my feet, ready to press on down the bloody road.

  I knew that my destination was growing closer and closer as the trail thickened, smearing onto the walls from time to time and snaking back and forth along the floor. If there had only been more light I could have found it with ease, but my eyes were beginning to burn and it seemed darker all the time.

  Another rain of illuminating sparks burst forth from the walls as I took yet another obscure right, and I found myself staring at the bumpy, grotesque back of an Alpha. The monster was slightly shorter than the one I had seen a mere fifteen minutes before, hunched and gnarled. Starvation had left it emaciated and mottled grey, but it still had all-too-dangerous ropes of muscle trailing down its arms and legs. Its head bobbed forward and back, and there were unbearably loud squelches. It was feeding on an Initiate, one of the few who had been injured earlier and returned for later. The sudden urge to vomit was stifled by the simple madness that had infected me. Slash it, stab it, carve it up … make it suffer. Kill it.

  From just ahead, there was an almost soundless groan, and I noticed a thin, lanky form collapsed against a crimson wall. A blizzard of sparks fell from above, falling on the oblivious creature’s back. The light of the electrical failure revealed a shaggy head of crimson hair before lapsing back into nothingness.

  Janus’s red eyes glowed faintly in the dark, and mine locked with them. Please … just hold on. The bright red slits bobbed up and down ever so slightly, and I turned my attention back to the horrid beast before me. These monsters always wounded their prey before feeding to prevent escape. My friend did not have much longer, whether the Alpha was alive or not.

  My presence did not alarm it, or even elicit its attention. The creature kept eating and growling with satisfaction. The squelches had been replaced by the crunch of bone, and that, coupled with the fetid stink of death and demise, filled me with hate. I brought my long sword high above my head, wishing it was a heavier, more suitable edge. Just as I took a step forward, the Alpha let out a bestial, satisfied grunt and stood up straight. It casually thundered over the bloody carcass that it had devoured down to the bones and more, and Janus’s glowing eyes caught its attention. An overjoyed screech echoed through the halls, and the chalky brute took a few steps towards the Ocean Dweller, slumped against a wall. I rushed to the attack.

  I leapt forward, using my weight to bring the sword down quickly and with as much force as I could muster. The sword penetrated the thick, coarse skin, and a thin line of brackish blood was drawn down its shoulder blades. There was no wailing scream of defeat or pain. There was only a bark of annoyance and the Alpha turned, setting its sights on me. I
brought the sword to my side, but was shocked as long claws swiped at my chest, too fast to parry or dodge. I jerked back, feeling three streams of fire rip through the thin uniform and into my skin. I grunted and heaved myself past the monster, hoping to get behind it. I was successful, and I lashed out against it. The sword bounced off its thick bony head, utterly harmless. Sobering sanity returned to me.

  Run … use the dark … they’re almost blind … think! Alien thoughts tore through my skull in a strange voice. I had no choice but to follow them, for death was the alternative. More twisted claws began swiping at me, and I used the beast’s momentum against it by sidestepping and running past.

  I paid no heed to the blood trail; the voice had been correct, and Alphas were canines by nature. Their sense of smell would guide them, and they smelled blood above all other things. I took wild, wanton turns, trying to put as much ground between the two of us as possible. The black thoughts began burning my mind again, a smooth voice different from the rational one that prompted me to run. There were angered howls behind me, and I could feel the corroded floor itself shuddering violently as the monster’s four legs hurried to overtake my mere two.

  I needed to take great care in my escape. If I covered too much ground, the demon would return to Janus out of boredom, and if I covered too little, then the outcome would be obvious.

  Need to fight, need to kill, need to avenge … I dashed around a corner, ducking down. The jolts in the flooring grew in number and intensity, and I could hear the thing’s hot breath now. I tensed my muscles, bringing the sword to my left side. Setting such a rudimentary trap was all I could think to do.

  A triumphant shriek was heard. The creature knew where I was, my stationary scent beckoning to it. Its splayed claws scrabbled against the floor, louder and more erratic with every moment.

  I hurled my body out from the side corridor and brought Nacia’s weapon forward towards the Alpha’s neck. There was a terrified howl as the blade cleaved the skin and sunk into the flesh, sticking there and wresting itself from my grip. Something had gone wrong. The demon dog was still alive, and it took an offended step towards me. Those terrible claws sprung forth once again, yellowed and curved and still dripping with blood. Another golden tempest fell from the ceiling, and sparks rained heavily all around us. I could see its eyes, ridden with cataracts and white with lucid, grey pupils. They were wide with happiness. More sparks fell. I took a step backward, knowing I was about to die.

  Use the electricity … command it, dominate it, make it yours. It’s your power, your affinity. Lightning … The calm voice reverberated inside my head, blotting out all of the simple hate I had felt before. The sparks took on the lucid appearance of a current.

  Let it flow through you, let it become a part of you, see the sparks as they truly are … See the Spheres .

  I blinked for a moment, and was thrown into another world. The demon’s form was a silhouette, black and hazy, surrounded by a dim aura of yellow and red that crackled like flame. The many tongues of fire twisted and danced before my eyes, touching the black, misty walls and floor around, devouring them. My body gave off a gentler grey that pushed at the demon’s light, repelling it backward. High above, there was a glimpse of paradise.

  The malfunctioning wires shimmered with a brilliant shade of gold, and as the sparks arced between them, innumerable golden spheres gleamed into existence, all of them shining. Each was no bigger than a fingertip, and they danced with one another in an endless flow. Use them … they’re yours to command.

  I brought my right hand up, willing the Spheres towards me, commanding them to be mine. They began flowing slowly, spiralling down to my open hand. I commanded, wanting more to come to me, and my hand closed into a fist as they gathered in a frenzy. I was absorbing them and took a sharp breath. Some were disobeying, but were brought back into rank by my force of will. The demon before me took a step backward, and another, and another. My hand throbbed and began to ache, silhouetted by yellow, crackling fury.

  See the demon … The wise old voice was louder then. I blinked again, and was plunged back into the impure, corroded world. My hand illuminated everything as far as the eye could see, including the demon that now seemed so small and afraid. My fist shook, trembling violently under its own power, and I smiled at its heat and its promise.

  Throw it … I obeyed the voice without question, and took a step as I pushed my arm forward. A violent, erratic bolt of gold erupted from my open hand, coursing towards the beast.

  There was a loud shriek as the lightning bolt made an impact, and the smell of scorched flesh filled the air as the Alpha fell, its chalky body reduced to smouldering charcoal. I took slow steps towards it, feeling strangely overexerted, and looked down at the foul creature. Its eyes had bulged out of their sockets, and the terrible, bloody maw was sealed shut, its teeth molten and fused together into a permanent smile. I reached down and grabbed the hilt of Nacia’s long sword. The blade left the demon’s charred neck without resistance. I left it there and returned to Janus. Everything came back to silence.

  Sensibility returned to the corridors, now free of their earlier madness. With their layout being logical and formulaic, I found my bleeding friend in moments and leaned down next to him. There was a wound carved deeply into his left thigh, and he was breathing too slowly. His body felt cool to the touch, and I swore loudly as I removed my belt to make a tourniquet. I was unsure what to do, but then something happened that should have happened an eternity before. The Guild Centurions arrived to collect the survivors.

  8

  What Lies in Store

  “Guild Initiates Janus Baskervor and Zircon Fortuna, you are to come with us immediately.” The man before me was tall and thin, his back rigid. The same rigidity was instilled in his voice, and his words were well rehearsed. The wound in Janus’s leg left him unfazed; after all, the red armour of a thermokinetic soldier was not suited to treating injury. I fitted myself under Janus’s arm and supported him as we stood. He was still conscious, yet his head listed drearily from side to side.

  I was relieved that the ordeal was over, and the dazed look on Janus’s face gave some muted suggestion of the same feeling. All of the cries for mercy and demonic shrieks for mayhem, all of the simple urge to hunt and kill, had gone. My exhaustion was accompanied by nausea. I was grateful that we were walking slowly.

  “What the hell took you so long to get down here?” I was furious. So many people had died, alone and abandoned, in the institution that was supposed to protect them. The Centurion turned his head and sneered. “We came as quickly as we could. There aren’t many active Centurions on the station, and by the time we were notified, we doubted that any of you had survived.”

  “That’s an excuse? You weren’t sure so you took your time and left us down here to rot anyway?”

  “We came as quickly as we could. There’s nothing else I can say.” It was not an acceptable answer, but it was clearly the only one I would receive. I remained silent, seething.

  The thin man’s partner was a short, stocky woman, plated in the striking blue of a hydrokinetic. She clutched a gun in one hand and a short sword in the other as she loped down the hall. Her black hair flipped dangerously from side to side as she glanced anxiously down the corridors on our left and right. It was darker than before, with fewer sparks raining down, and I wondered if it was my doing.

  The bleeding in Janus’s leg had thankfully stopped, cinched off by my belt, and I remained confident that he would survive after treatment. Alphas had no venom or natural poisons to speak of, which was something to be thankful for.

  Glad to have someone looking out for me. Janus’s raspy voice whispered inside my head, and I smiled faintly. Ocean Dwellers were telepathic, their time in the endless waters of their world forcing them down a road of communication unknown to Erdechildren or Bra’ Hca.

  I looked at Janus and asked, “Were you the one who told me to … to see the Spheres?” He quirked his brow and frowned, taken a
back by the question. No, that wasn’t me.

  His answer troubled me deeply. I had heard three voices in my head before: the old one that left me reassured and the angry one that left me insane. There were no other thought-speaking Ocean Dwellers down there that I could think of. I decided to keep it to myself, at least for the time being.

  I looked ahead, realising that we had finally reached that rusted, crumbling, and glorious doorway to safety and normalcy. Nacia’s sword clattered to the floor next to me as it opened up, its grinding gears calming me.

  As we rushed back up to the Guild, back to my cramped living space and exhaustive conditioning of every kind, my aching muscles relaxed. Even so, my mind was full of concern. This was the life that I had chosen, one of violence and mortal danger, and I realised the harsh reality of becoming a Guild Centurion. A wave of nausea struck me as I thought back on my brief experience.

  I found myself back in that cursed place, staring at the Alpha, who stepped toward me, torturously and tauntingly, his bony sickles eager to let my life pour out onto the grated floor. The long sword was buried in its neck, deep enough to stick but shallow enough to be ineffectual, and its hilt bobbed up and down with every step. The sparks flowed into my hand, and the crackling, charged sensation returned. I left the monster dead and grinning on the floor, its teeth welded together, its eye sockets bulging with smoke and charred, stinking flesh. I wanted to do that. I genuinely wanted to do that to a living thing.

  Before the security doorway opened fully, I dashed out, looking for a waste container, a toilet, anything that would serve my purpose. I dodged the researchers and pushed my way through those waiting to use the small lavatory. I found my prize there and my chest heaved with short breaths. My brow was drenched in ice as my stomach contracted. The bile was bitter as it left my body. I collapsed against the wall and looked at my hands. They were coated with dried blood, a brown and black putridity of what had spurted from the demon’s neck and the girl’s stomach. I turned my head to the side, trying to catch my breath. My stomach tightened again, and I keeled forward before lapsing into unconsciousness.