Chapter 1: Subject Erebus78Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQvjW9iYri
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“A friend is someone you haven’t met yet, so is an enemy. Choose wisely on who you meet”
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A quote by Dr William. A. Adler
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Long ago.
During one calm quiet night, with barely a cloud in sky, people around the world looked towards the heavens and watched as the stars started to fall.
Like snowflakes on a soft breeze, they fell slowly, as if they were soft as a feather.
Shimmering, glistening as they fell. They were small, and they were beautiful.
Small crystal-like diamonds that could fit snuggly into the palm of your hand, they floated down to the earth below.
The people of the land who saw this strange phenomenon and outstretched their arms towards the sky.
They wanted to catch these little miracles, gifts from God they called them.
But no matter how they tried, the crystals passed through their hands and sank into the earth.
There were less stars in the sky after that night and no-one knows why they fell in the first place.
But one thing they do know, after that night, the world changed forever.
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The Starfall
By Theodore Brooks
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It felt cold.
Cold and heavy.
Carin awoke from a deep sleep to find that she couldn’t open her eyes.
She couldn’t see nor hear her surroundings, her world was black and filled with strange muffled sounds and sensations.
She tried to move her arms, but they only twitched.
Her legs were there, but she could only feel them.
It felt like her whole body was stuck in the foetal position, her legs gently tucked in with her arms pressed close to her chest.
All of it feeling submerged in thick gooey liquid.
Carin could feel the cold texture of the slimy and yet wet substance move all around her, like her body was being bathed in a slow turning washing machine.
The sensation was smooth and wriggly, the sort of feeling that made her feel greatly uncomfortable as it hugged and rubbed against her body.
She was confused and afraid, she had no idea how she got in this predicament or why.
Her memory was a blur, a haze of memories like static on a tv screen.
She knew her name like it was engraved on her heart, but remembering any points of her life as of now, was only in the moment.
But then something stimulated her senses.
Carin could hear muffled noises close by, it was as if there was a person standing just within arm’s reach of her.
So very close but impossible to reach.
It was voices, two distinctive voices talking, conversing as if they were discussing something important.
A deep tone, a man whose voice conveyed weight of superiority.
And another man, a bit softer and more jovial, as if every word had no meaning behind them.
With not much option to her and an obvious curiosity to her situation, Carin focused all her might to her visitors, maybe she could hear something, anything.
“- and the girl?”
“Serious burns and (muffled)”
Shit! What was that? She thought worriedly.
Depending on the severity of the burns, her very own life could be a risk but, it was odd, she couldn’t feel any pain at all.
Was I injected with something, is that why I cannot move?
“Ah perfect! wonderful even. I’ve always wanted to treat a serious burn victim in my recuperation tank. I’m quite curious as to how my little Slimes will react to a burned meal.”
What in the world is a Slime? She bemused.
Oh god! I hope its not this gooey shit that’s crawling around me. Eewww!!
“And what of the foreign substance? Is it still in her? Are they re-acting to our expectations?”
You mean like a virus or infection?
“Subject Erebus appears to be dormant. Which is lucky for us, if (muffled) was still active I’d doubt they would last (muffled)”
Wait!? Is there something wrong with me? Is there something in me!? How long do I have! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!!
Carin wanted to cry out badly, scream if possible, but her lips wouldn’t move, her body remained motionless.
But her heart rate was elevating fast and her brainwaves surged as she screamed internally.
“Wait a moment? Something is not quite right.”
Silence enveloped Carin’s surroundings, the voices stop for what felt like an eternity.
The lack of sound was disturbing and unsettling, it was like being stuck in a wide-open space with no light or sounds.
A world void of everyone and thing but herself.
She didn’t know if there was anyone still in the room with her.
Hello? Is anyone there!? She panicked, as her heart began to hurt and her lungs pounded inside her.
Somebody! Say something!!
A surge of pain wracked Carin’s chest. At first she thought she was having a heart attack, but the pain emanated elsewhere.
It felt like there was something nestled in-between her breasts and it was crying out in anguish.
Then the voices returned, Carin could barely hear them over her ears pulsing, but it was refreshing that they were still close by.
“(muffled) -steady, do not lose her. Her (muffled) its reacting to the (muffled)”
A tiny shock suddenly coursed through her body and the gooey substance around her tightened slightly.
Whatever it was caused Carin’s heart to ease and her pulse began to steady.
Not by choice however as a sudden urge to sleep wayed heavy on Carin’s mind and body.
As she started to drift, a warm sensation started to emerge from her chest, in the very spot that cried out in anguish.
This feeling was… pleasant, somewhat inviting like a hug from your mother or a loving kiss goodnight.
Whatever it was, it was more of a welcome experience to what had transpired so far.
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Carin awoke in the darkness once more, no telling how much time had passed but she could still feel that she was still in the same wet, slimy substance as before.
It was the sound of voices that stimulated her to awaken, the same two voices as before.
Where… What’s happening now? She thought groggily as her mind slowly awoken from her sleep.
She could barely think at the moment, it was like her brain got a sudden wake up call and couldn’t process what was going on.
But the moment she started to get some clarity, her ears twitched as she began to listen to the voices outside.
“-but Dr Adler, can’t we at least re-use Subject Erebus? We’ve sunk far too many Units as it is. It would be far too much of a waste to simply discard the experiment now!”
Dr Adler? her mind groaned in tiredness.
The name felt… familiar and yet distant, perhaps she had heard of the name before but never knew of the person.
“They’re are reacting far too differently from what I had initially suspected. I half expected to find a floating corpse this morning, but nope. Nothing. Not even the sights of the city could disappoint me this much.
But fret not Dr Croce I should be able to remove the (muffled) and we can try again on another (muffled)”
As the conversation came to a close, a sudden realisation washed over Carin after hearing that man speak.
They are using me as some sort of science experiment!!
Carin’s heart started to beat faster once more, the thought and idea of being subjugated to a mere science project was frightening.
She didn’t have any motor functions at all, did they do this on purpose? Do they realise she was still active in her mind?
How many times have they poked inside her body by this point? How many hands have coursed their way around her, treating her like some sort of doll?
She wanted to escape, she wanted this nightmare to end.
But how!?
Suddenly her thoughts ran to a sudden stop as a random unknown feeling tingled.
Like a tickle but without the urge to laugh.
It was from the same area where her pain erupted from before, in the centre of her chest.
What was?... I don’t… is there something in my chest?
as those words crossed her mind her chest tingled once more.
Its… in my chest?
It tickled once more.
Holy shit!! There’s something in me!!
“How peculiar?”
“What is it Dr Croce? Did you forget your key card again?”
“No! it was… never mind. I think the lack of sleep is catching up to me”
“Understandable my dear doctor. I barely get any sleep myself, how could I when I could be playing with my new toys.”
“Dr Adler! if memories serve me well, was it not your sick perversion to “play time” that caused the unexpected loss of (muffle).”
The sounds of the two doctors became muddy and muffled, as if the two started to walk further and further away from Carin.
They left her alone once more, alone to her thoughts in the darkness.
But at least now she had something to do, something to focus on and something else to understand.
What in the hell are you? She pondered as she focused around her chest.
It took a moment but she could feel something distinctly different in her. Like there was something protruding out from her ribcage.
It was small and maybe round but there wasn’t any pain or discomfort, only an odd feeling that she couldn’t describe.
And there was no tickle of a tingle, no response of any kind.
Must have stopped, whatever ever it was. She sighed internally.
As long as it stays quiet for now, she didn’t mind it in her chest… for now.
A more pressing matter would be finding a way out of this… container?
Carin wasn’t too sure what she was in, she recalled one of the doctors calling it a recouperation tank, whatever that was.
But it did give her the idea that it may be a small container.
It had to be small, surely since the only occupant was herself and the gooey… slimes?
And the walls of the container had to be a type of glass, or else the doctors wouldn’t be able to see or examine her.
Great, I have an idea what I’m in and what it is made of, but that means jack shit if I cannot move. she thought rather grumpily.
Her chest tickled again.
That’s not helping. I need an idea not a distraction.
Her chest tickled once more, but this time it didn’t stop.
What’s happening now!? She thought at an alarming rate.
The tickling started to move from her chest, like a slithering snake the feeling thinly veiled towards her collar bone, up her neck and slowly towards her cheek.
If Carin could move, she would now be petrified by this odd and strange experience.
OH SHIT! OH SHIT!
And then it stopped.
The tingling persisted but it stopped progressing and… it felt oddly warm and familiar, like she had already experienced it once before.
Her chest tickled and the feeling on her cheek slowly moved from side to side, like if someone was gently rubbing their loved one’s cheek.
Are-are you alive? She asked, almost expecting an answer.
Her chest tickled in response.
Carin’s mind almost went blank as she slowly came to realise, whatever was inside her chest was alive and at the very least could understand her.
It would explain why it kept tickling her, it was its own way of communicating with her.
Oh!! Fuck, well… hi I guess… my name’s Carin… and you are?
….
There was no response.
Whatever it was, it seemed to respond to simple yes/no questions. At least, that is what it seemed to be doing.
I’ve got to call you something at the very least, a name to confirm my suspicions that you are real, and not a figment of my imagination.
She paused her thought for a moment as she tried to remember that odd name the doctor called it.
Subject Erebus… would you liked to be called Erebus?
Her chest tickled and the feeling on her cheek seemed more happier as it got a little warmer.
We’ll, at least we’ve established a basic form of communication. Still no luck in busting out of here though.
Carin didn’t realise it though, that Erebus, her new found friend or partner was seemingly reacting to the thoughts or brainwaves that she emitted.
It had been listening to her ever since she first woke up and found herself trapped in this cage.
And through her experiences of feeling scared and threatened, Erebus understood clearly in its own way that they were in some sort of danger and was more than willing to help.
Retracting its presence from Carin’s cheek, the strange veiled feeling moved back down towards her collar bone.
But instead of returning back to her chest as Carin thought it was doing, Erebus instead headed straight towards Carin’s shoulder and started making its way up her arm.
Where are you going Erebus? She immediately asked.
Erebus did not reply, in encroached onto her forearm before stopping completely still.
Carin wished she could see what it was doing, being completely in the dark made this feeling of movement a little unnerving as she could feel its presence fully.
But then an odd sound caught her attention.
It was like a creaking… no… a cracking sound, like glass slowly splitting.
Suddenly Carin was propelled forward as the sound of glass shattering was only encompassed by the sound of rushing water gushing out onto the floor.
Loud Sirens immediately blasted their wailing as soon as the glass broke.
The unfiltered noise was unpleasant and painful to listen to.
“Mhm…”
“Where….”
Carin moaned as her body lay clumped on the cold wet floor.
The force of the impact caused Carin to bang her head, it was hard to think, hard to focus.
“What happe-?”
A sudden realisation stopped her words in her tracks.
Her mouth was moving and she was talking.
She didn’t know why she could move her mouth only now but, she wasn’t complaining.
“if… if that’s working, then maybe” she said excitedly.
With a hope and a prayer, Carin focused towards her eye lids, and as the shade of red and blue flashing lights peeped into her eyes, Carin saw she was laying somewhere on the ground.
Her arms were outstretched in front of her among shards of what appeared to be glass and large mounds of green goo splattered in clumps.
The chequered white floor was awash in the bizarre looking substance, but there was something else in the room with her nearby. She could hear it move as it made a slight squelching noise.
Erebus? She thought quickly.
Her body still felt a bit numb and stiff but she could slightly move her head.
Tilting her head down as her cheek splashed in the liquid, Carin drifted her sights towards the sounds of squelching.
“What is that” she said softly as the words carried a heavy sense of confusion.
Moving erratically across from her near by what looked like a massive tube with broken glass, was a large mound of moving green goo.
Carin’s chest started to compress as her breathing started to increase at a moderate pace.
She had never seen that thing before, it was creepy and somewhat menacing in its movements, like it was a lost and confused predator.
“Erebus!?” she hesitantly asked the green goo, hoping at the very least it was the same creature she could communicate with.
…
There was no reply from her chest and the green goo twitched at the sound of her voice.
“Erebus! Is that you?” she called out, hoping that it was true.
The green goo stopped moving erratically, it was now moving in a straight line towards Carin. Its squelching sounds grew louder as the creature moved closer to her.
Its form was becoming more noticeable, it was almost transparent with its thick gooey insides and deep within this mound of green was an odd object.
Pure white and crystalline, shaped like a rhombus and small enough to fit inside the palm of your hand.
This crystal-like object was in the centre of the creature moving aggressively towards her.
“Erebus! If that’s you, please stop moving!!” she nervously called out.
But the goo didn’t stop, it got even closer and was very quickly reaching towards Carin’s outstretched left hand.
Carin was absolutely terrified now, she desperately wanted to move but her body wouldn’t obey.
The powerful sensation of pins and needles was starting to come in and the green goo had finally reached Carin’s hand.
Her eyes darted around trying to see if there was anything at all that could help her.
“AAAAAGHHHH” she screamed as the goo slimed its way onto her hand.
Even through the numbness in her body she could feel her skin and flesh slowly dissolve into the creature.
It was eating her alive.
“HELP ME PLEASE, SOMEBODY!!” she yelled. But nobody could hear.
Her eyes watered in the searing burning pain as she bit into her lip.
She felt helpless and defeated.
A sudden chance to escape and I get eaten alive! She fumed.
But then, in the corner of her eye, a strange black shadow stretched across her arm.
The blackness grew in length as it hugged against her skin like a thin piece of paper.
Within seconds the dark form reached the fleshy remains of Carin’s hand and shot like a dart outward into the green goo.
The burning feeling suddenly stopped as soon as a small black shaped hand grabbed the tiny crystal inside the goo.
Swiftly retreating, the black form took away the crystal back down Carin’s arm and disappeared out of sight, just as the green goo exploded into a watery paste.
“What the fu…?” she muttered in pain.
Whatever that creature was now appeared to be dead and Carin was left with a bloodied mess of a hand.
The numbness in her body was starting to fade quicker and the sensation of pins and needles was lessening.
Carin could start to move her arms and legs.
“Fucking finally”
Cautiously raising with her body wobbling to her hand and knees, Carin kept swiftly looking for other bodies of goo around the room.
As her eyes darted to each one that lay around the liquid and glass, Carin assumed that since they weren’t moving, that they were either dead or didn’t notice the display earlier.
She didn’t care at the moment, she was more interested on getting onto her own two feet and seeing to her badly burned hand.
Using a nearby stool chair as leverage, Carin used the furniture to lift her self off the ground and leaning onto the close by countertop.
The sounds of blaring sirens were dulling out as background noise as Carin took a moment to take a breath and gather her wits.
The room that she was in was moderately small, like the size of an average bedroom or kitchen.
It was decorated like a miniature laboratory; countertops lined the sides of the room with equal number of stools on each side.
Two sets of computers sat opposite, one on each side.
The only door stood at one end of the room, and directly facing it, right behind Carin was a large human sized tube with had recently been shattered.
The tube was hooked up to a strange black machine that coved the back wall, it made a low pitch humming noise that could still be heard even over the blaring sirens.
“So that’s where I’ve been” she said as she looked at it with disgust.
“Ah!! Fuck!”
Her left hand suddenly stinging more in the open air reminded her that she needed to get it looked at, or at the very least bandaged.
Taking a deep long look at her mess of a hand, Carin wince in pain as she could swear she could see bone among the muscle and flesh.
It was a miracle it itself she was not passing out from the pain or shock, but perhaps the recent rush of adrenaline is what’s keeping her awake.
Taking a gander at the rest of her body, Carin could see that besides the small cuts and bruises on her body, she was absolutely starkers.
Not a single ounce of clothing on her.
Feeling a bit out of place and mildly embarrassed, Carin began to walk slowly over the glass covered floor and made her way towards a nearby clothe hook, where a pair of white lab coats dangled.
Stepping past the green piles of mess on the floor, Carin reached out for a coat and quickly put it on.
And as she started to button up the coat in order to hide herself, she noticed something odd as she got to her chest.
In the centre of her chest, in-between her breasts was an emerald green oval stone.
Just by looking at the object Carin could tell it was a part of her, she could feel it inside her as if it was a part of her body.
A word or name flashed like a memory as she stared at the stone.
“Core” she muttered quietly.
It was clearly something she knew of before she lost her memories, so perhaps it wasn’t something to be concerned about.
But what did take her notice, more so that the strange object protruding out of her chest, was a similar tiny rhombus shaped crystal that lay inside the green goo, was also squarely deep into the surface of her stone.
It wasn’t the same crystal as before though as that one was pure white, this one however was a deep shade of grey, quite close to black.
“What in the world are you?” she murmured as her hand reached out to touch it.
And as a single finger tapped the surface, a familiar tingle tickled her chest.
“Erebus!?” she spluttered with a startle.
Her chest tickled again as a tiny black shadow of a hand reach out from the crystal and touched the tip of Carin’s finger.
Carin immediately recognised the black thin hand as the same mass that crossed her arm and saved her life.
It was cold to the touch, but she felt a warm pleasant feeling in her Core beneath the Crystal.
“Glad to see that you are okay Erebus, and thank you” she smiled.
Her Core tickled a bit more than usual, as if Erebus was feeling very happy or pleased with itself.
After buttoning up the lab coat and bandaging up her left hand with first aid supplies, she found in a nearby first aid box.
Carin ventured cautiously towards the only door in the room.
Using her undamaged hand to open the door, Carin slowly exited and left the strange world she had entered behind.
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Notes from the desk of Dr William. A. Adler
Slimes: strange and yet fascinating creatures. With a cell form closer to that of jellyfish, these Monsters are by far one of the most weakest and yet dangerous things anyone can encounter.
Depending of course by how you treat them.
All slimes have a natural acidic body that they use to slowly digest whatever happens to be in their way.
Depending on the environment and what they eat the most, a slime can evolve into a multitube of varieties.
This in itself is what gives them a sense of danger because no matter the environment, even if it was seemingly uninhabitable, you can bet a Slime could thrive on what little was there.
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Healing Slime: A funny type of Slime that I had the pleasure of meeting first hand.
This variant of the common Slime is a bit of an oddball.
Their green bodies give off the natural idea that they might be more acidic that other counterparts, which is true.
However, due to evolving on a diet of healing herbs and other remedies, if exposed to the liquified remains of other Slimes.
Its acidic juices will change composition and will change into what can be described as a miracle healing agent.
The Healing Slime will stop at nothing to try and heal its dead brethren, regardless of how impossibly long this will take.
If used in the correct environment, I may be able to heal pretty much all types of physical injury.
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The Recouperation Tank: After years of research, I have finally devised a machine that can take advantage of the healing properties of the Healing Slime.
In order to take advantage of the biological urge to heal even the most deceased Slime, I had to build an environment in which that could take place, while also ensuring that the patient wouldn’t become its next meal.
The subject is placed inside an acid proof container and is then covered in the liquid remains of other Slimes.
From a small hatch in the top of the chamber I can then introduce a living Healing Slime or two quite safely to the subject.
The actual machine used to monitor the health of the patient and keep track of the Slimes will be enormous.
It will activate failsafe’s if the Slime begins to act odd or out of line, a small dosage of electricity seems to re-motivate them to continue healing.
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Authors Notes:
Thank you for reading if you have reached this far.
This section here is for me to personally vent my frustrations about my work or just to simply explain my thought process.
You can expect to see this at the end of every chapter.
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Well… this is my second attempt at this story. I mean actually writing it.
I’ve been trying to write this thing for about… ten years give or take.
My first attempt at a proper go is my other story, simply called Soul Story78Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyRxXcLCmh
After about 12 chapters I just stopped writing that version of the story because, well even I thought it was shit.78Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk06ojyDV8X
It’s been about 9 months since then and I’m ready to re-tell the events…. In a massively different way.78Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02T2LuyXu6
I would appreciate some form of comment, even a negative one could help me improve on how I proceed forward. 78Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJHHsvOI8l
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Anyway, once again thanks for reading and I will see you next time.78Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgr8nDujhs
