ACT 1

  The Beginning

  Year 2196

  Chapter 1

  The suit compresses around my throat like a vice, my body desperately tries to pull in more air but but it's like trying to suck air through a swizzle stick. My chest like a boulder is resting on it, I can barely fill my lungs. This suit is killing me. My head feels light, things look fuzzy. Multiple needles are thrust into my spine. The pain is like I'm burning up from the inside. I open my mouth to scream, but I don't have enough air to exhale, my mouth hangs open wide in silence.

  All I can think is what an awful fricken way to die.

  With a crackling jolt, electricity starts flowing through me. My muscles convulse in an involuntary rhythm that increases in tempo with the hum of the power generators' motor as it screams at a higher and higher pitch. Some of the other soldiers have electrical bolts shoot out of their eyes, it smells of scorched flesh and burnt wires in the room.

  This is wrong.

  This is very wrong.

  There is a distant explosion.

  Then darkness.

  It is a darkness so absolute I begin to doubt whether or not my eyes are open.

  Slowly, the pain starts to wash away. The constricting sensation all over my body is still there, with the exception of my uncovered hands and head. It is like my muscles and bones have grow slightly larger then my skin. Taking a deep breath my new skin seems to relax, not be as oppressive. Taking a few more deep breaths my head starts to feel clearer. My hands are bound to the table still. I try to free myself, the needles are still in my back, when I try to move its like red hot pokers in my spine.

  The only thing worse then this personal hell is having to endure the personal hell of others, only some of them are in a much deeper, darker, lair of hell. Their screaming cuts right through to my soul.

  Two of them start screaming about not being able to feel their legs.

  A third voice chimes in. “Try to calm down, we're all messed up some. “ He says.

  “It seems the system crashed mid fusion, once they restore power they'll help us.” The woman says. 8 big, well built soldiers and a short, petite woman. She's defiantly not a solider.

  “I've heard 5 voices, there's 9 of us here. Let's sound off: Goliath.” I say.

  “Stinger.” the man says.

  “Maria.” the woman says.

  “Just fucking help me man.” Another moans.

  There is no words from the other moaning souls, just a slow, long moan, then a gurgling cough as they inhales, leading to another moan.

  My vision is coming back. Slowly, I can start to see basic shapes in a dark digital snow. There is a pressure on my spine, excruciating pain. All four of us yell out in unison, the needles in my spine are being pushed out, like my body is rejecting them, not like they're being pulled out. They finally leave my body, the pain instantly disappears. All of us are quiet.

  “Did the needles get pushed out of your spine as well?” I say.

  “Yeah, hurt like hell.” Stinger says.

  “Yes, it's part of the process.” Maria says.

  “Its pitch black but I can kind of see in grey.” Stinger says.

  “Yeah, same here.” I say.

  What they told us was vague; the genome fusion in our spine was supposed to alter 24 genetic markers, to push us to the limit of what the human body is capable of doing. There was a risk; if they miscalculated and pushed too far our DNA would be damaged. I have no idea why the others volunteered for this; I know why I did though.

  They told us absolutely nothing about the suit fusion. In fact, they didn't even mention it until yesterday. They said the suit was deemed necessary and that we were past the point of pulling out of the procedure. There was a tenth member of the group that refused, he argued with them. They took him away and he didn't return.

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  Looking around I see Maria and who I think is Stinger moving. There is no doubt about which one is Maria; all the soldiers are close to 6 feet tall and built solid, Maria seems around 5 feet tall. Our fourth doesn't look right, there is a weird shape about him, with this limited vision at a distance I can't quite tell. I start to see others, they look grotesque, legs folded, arms twisted, misshapen, they're moving some, writhing in a sickening way, the silence in the room is broken by the sound of knuckles cracking. The groaning is rising in volume and intensity.

  “No no no my arm, I can't feel my legs, what's wrong?” Our fourth companion laments.

  The writhing of previously unresponsive men ramps up, they start making other inhuman noises. One of them pulls loose it's arm, flailing around, the arm almost the length of its body.

  “We need to get out of here fast, the misshapenness leads to madness.” Maria says.

  “How do you know this?” Stinger asks.

  “I read the top secret files on the project.”

  “How the frick did you end up in here?” I ask.

  “We can discuss it after, if we get free before them.”

  I pull on my right hand, the suit stops at my wrist, pushing and pulling with all my might, the base of my hand is raw as I try to force it out of the binding. With a pop and a snap pain shoots up my lower wrist, my thumb flattens into the palm of my hand and I'm able to pull my hand through the binding. My broken thumb tingles.

  There is a loud crash, one of them is flailing around, both it's arms free.

  I start freeing my other hand. Two of my grotesque companions break free, one each lumbering towards Maria and Stinger. I work to free my feet, the creatures are on my companions, clawing at their bodies.

  It's us versus them.

  Freeing my legs I rush to the closest companion. Clawing desperately at Stingers body it tries to scratch his face, the crunching, popping sound of cracking knuckles rings out as they do so, their misshapen limbs flailing about. Stinger desperately tries to kick it off. The air is heavy with the coppery smell of foul blood.

  Pulling the thing off Stinger, I slam it to the concrete. From what I can see in the grainy grey fog it's chest is opened up, the suit contorting his body. Grasping it with my arm around its neck I twist with a snap. He stops moving but tries to bite me still. I slam his head on the concrete, he keeps biting at me. Continually I slam its head into the floor until his skull breaks open, until there is nothing left for me to grasp.

  The headless monstrosity starts moving again, being pull around by the misshapen suit. I try the only thing I can think of: I reach in it's exposed chest cavity, grasp his heart and rip it out. It stops moving.

  “What the fuck was that Goliath?” Stinger says.

  “I don't fricken know, there is more.” I say as I'm freeing one of Stingers hands.

  Maria screams, there are two clawing at her face. Blindly charging them I tackle one and knock the other away from her. Starting on the first one I go straight for his heart, once I rip it from his exposed chest it stops moving. I dispatch the other in the same way, then turn to Maria.

  Fricken hell. From the dark grey snow tone of what I can see they scratched up her face, her left eye socket is really uneven and wrong looking. Her eye gouged. I free one of her hands. Two more come at me, grasping me, clawing at me. On my body where the suit is fused I feel next to nothing. But when they scratch my uncovered face I feel the sting.

  Grabbing one around the waist I slam it to the ground. Stinger grabs the other.

  It's not like wrestling a man, it's body is all contorted. But I manage to find wear it's heart is, scooping behind it I rip it out. The man stops moving. Stinger is behind the one he's fighting, trying to break it's neck. Rushing over I thrust my hand into it's chest, ripping his heart out as it goes limp. Stinger falls back, sitting there looking at the creature.

  I walk over to our other companion that spoke and moaned. His body, his spine is severed above his hips, the black suit all over the lower portion of his body, he's laying there ripped open, arteries still connecting between the lower and upper half of his body.

  “Why can't I feel my legs?” He moans.

  I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. For a moment I nervously stand there, then I thrust my hand into his chest cavity, he lets out a loud gasp as I rip out his heart.

  “Help... me...” Are his last words.

  Looking up Stinger is standing there, in the cool grey view of darkness I can feel him just looking at me as I hold the man's heart in my hand. I gently place it back on his chest.

  We go to Maria. Standing over her it's clear her eye has been scratched out, her face is scratched to hell, her face around the wounds writhing. Before our eyes we watch her facial scares heal over. Rapidly her eyeball just appears, the remnants of the former eyeball that was half scratched out slides on to her cheek. Her hand shaking she grabs it and pulls it away from her face, throwing it with disgust at the floor.

  “I guess the fusion worked, on us anyway.” I say.

  We help Maria to her feet, she seems to be in shock. Can't imagine what growing a new eyeball would feel like.

  When Stinger is about to unbuckle her binding his hand grasps her hand. Both of their suits seem to almost pulsate.

  “Back off.” she says.

  “I didn't do anything, my hand moved me to you like a magnet.”

  “Yeah, I felt it as well, my wrist pressed towards you. I felt...”

  “Yeah, I felt it too. Let's focus on getting out of here.”

  He stands back as I free Maria.

  Now that we're free we stand in a circle, looking at each other in the grey grainy snow trying to make sense of things. I've seen a lot in my work with the Specters, but never anything like this. Humans in ehco-suits, that's the norm. Not there, mutations.

  “Well, what now?” Maria says.

  “Lets see if we can find a light and get out of here.” I say.

  There is an explosion from outside the room, much smaller then the previous one; a breaching charge. Blinding daylight pours in, covering my eyes I turn to it. They arte soldiers, I can feel it. Good, it's about time we have some help.

  “The big one covered in blood, it's attacking the other two!” A man yells.

  They open fire on me, I'm hit repeatedly. I fall to the ground.